Anything Goes Game Changer
by Vimesenthusiast
Summary: Using a sensor technique Ranma finds Miya, recently married woman who has more ki than anyone he has ever seen. After a Ranma style meeting, the two become sparring partners in return for Ranma's help in repairing Izumo house. Years later, Ranma seeks her out after arriving at the Tendo dojo, soon realizing that there is something big going on in Tokyo, and decides to get involved
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Sekirei or Ranma. Can't draw that well, and don't think that arguing with someone means your romantically involved with them.

Since my HOTD muse has not been fed enough to come up with a real plot for my Wizard of the Dead notion, here is the story idea that garnered the most votes after that one. This chapter is sort of like the first version of _Herd in Space_ chapter 1 I put out. If I take this story up full time, I would probably go back and add another 5,000 words or so to it, and makes some changes possibly, especially in the few combat scenes, adding more detail. But it should still give you all an idea of where I am going with this concept. Hope you all enjoy, and Happy New Years!

* * *

 **Anything Goes Game Changer (Temp title)**

Ranma scowled, kicking the ground irritably. His lunchtime matches with his sort-of-friend Ryoga were fun, interesting, and often times the only real exercise he got these days. His old man was usually busy with his job, despite always pontificating that true martial artists should only care about the martial arts and be willing to make do with the clothing on their back. _Funny how that stops the moment he ran out of sake money and I ran into a truant office_ r.

Of course the fact that Ranma had sort of accidentally knocked out said truant officer and then been given a rather stern talking to by the police had nothing to do with it. How was Ranma supposed to know that he was supposed to be in school anyway? _They did say something about it only being for another two years, but it's so_ _ **boring**_ _! Why the heck would anyone want to sit inside for so long and listen ta_ _ **boring**_ _teachers drone on about_ _ **boring**_ _subjects when ya could be learning martial arts? Still, at least the teachers at the school they sent me ta are understanding._

The teachers at Fujimori Correctional School knew that fighting was simply a part of what they had to deal with given the students sent to their school, though Ranma and Ryoga's fights were at a far higher skill level than most. So they had made a deal with Ranma. In order to keep their 'play fights' from being interrupted, Ranma had agreed to show Ryoga to each class, and of course to school and back.

At first Ranma thought it was a joke, but that was before he watched Ryoga walk around a corner in the school's second floor hallway only to disappear from sight despite Ranma being just a few steps behind him. Ryoga didn't show up for a week after that then when he did, he had a tan and sand in his boots.

At first Ranma had wanted to make fun of the boy and would have if one of the teachers hadn't told him that both Ryoga's parents had the same directional curse. No one knew why, but it certainly was a real affliction. Ranma didn't know what it was like to have a mother, whenever he asked his Oyaji about it Ranma was simply told she was gone, and not to worry about it. But having to deal with a father who could disappear the moment he left your room, that would've been weird and very sad too. It also gave Ranma more respect for Ryoga on many levels.

So he had agreed to the conditions, and for over two months now had walked Ryoga around the school and to and from the other boy's home. Today however it seemed as if that wasn't going to happen. _Ryoga knows he's not supposed ta leave the house without me here! What the hell man, I know you're prideful and all but face reality!_

"You must be Ranma, my son's notes have mentioned you a time or two. I'm Toro Hibiki." Said a deep voice as Ranma made to turn away from the back door to the house.

He turned, seeing the door opening and then looking up and then up again at the monster of a man who was slowly moving out of the doorway holding onto it for a moment as if afraid it would disappear if he let go. He had kind features, a full head of hair, and a long, twirling sort of mustache that looked like it was supposed to be from some Disney villain or other. He wore dust stained clothing, a T-shirt and jeans, which did nothing to hide the man's monstrous physique.

 _I know my Oyaji's strong, but even he might look at this guy and back off. Still, if he's as slow as his son, maybe all that strength wouldn't matter._ Ranma knew he was a little bit weaker than Ryoga, but he was so much faster that it didn't matter. "Er yeah, I'm the student assigned ta make sure Ryoga gets ta class. But I think he tried to leave before I got here today…"

"Yes, he left a note saying that we were out of food and he was just going to hop down to the store." The man rolled his eyes and Ranma groaned. "Hold on a moment, let me see if he's anywhere nearby." Ranma cocked his head quizzically watching as the man closed his eyes bringing his hands together in front of his face for moment as if he was praying. A moment later Ranma felt something waft over him like a warm breeze, but the breeze kept going on as whatever it was spread out.

A moment later the older man opened his eyes shaking his head sadly. "No, I can't sense him or my wife anywhere." Toro looked to the side muttering under his breath. "Probably just as well, I could've sworn I heard movement in our bedroom, and my wife's got a very shrill tongue on her when faced with little surprises like that."

"What was that thing you just did?" Ranma asked, his brows furrowed as he looked around. "What do ya mean 'sense'?"

The older man's eyes went up in surprise. "You actually felt that, that's very impressive for your age. That was a sort of 'echolocation' I suppose you could say. It's a ki technique that my family developed to allow us to sense other sources of life energy in the area, which can let us hunt eachother down if we're close enough. I can tell who it is by understanding the reading, sort of like a sonar analyst, though that takes more practice."

Ranma's face brightened up. "Ki, I've been learning about that lately, though I haven't heard 'bout anything like that!" His Oyaji had begun to teach what ki was, and had told him that some martial artists could take their own life energy and use it to attack or defend, but that it would take decades for Ranma to be able to do the same thing.

What Genma didn't say was that Ranma had been doing the former for years. Genma had never held back against Ranma, which forced Ranma to develop the ability to toughen his body up physically as well as via his ki. But that wasn't a conscious use on his part, simply something Ranma's body did automatically.

"This is a sort of family specialty, though Ryoga hasn't learned it yet. It would be normally be years, possibly ten or more before he's got enough ki to make it." Toro frowned looking down at Ranma, his eyes speculative. "Tell you what kid, if you know what ki is, you think you can learn it?"

"I'd love to give it a try!" said Ranma practically hopping up on his feet excitement at learning anything about ki.

"Good." the Hibiki patriarch gestured him inside. "Remember though this is a family technique, I expect you to try and teach it to Ryoga when you see him. It's be nice if he could finish Junior High on time, something my wife and I couldn't do. And you're not to teach it to anyone else without my permission. I'm trusting on your word of honor for this."

Ranma nodded quickly, understanding his point. Of course family techniques were important, stealing them outside a fight was dishonorable in the extreme. Nor did he have any issue with teaching Ryoga, since it might help get the baka to stick around if he could learn it.

"Come on then, let's do this now before I find myself somewhere else again. Stupid family curse." He shook his head, before smirking. "Still, we wouldn't be nearly as rich as we are if we didn't have it."

Ranma shrugged. Not having his father's predilection towards drink, Ranma didn't really care about money per-se. It was nice he supposed, but his Oyaji had taught him how to live off the land, even if that land wasn't wilderness but cities, and where to steal food and everything else. One thing Genma had passed on to Ranma was that food wasn't something anyone could own if you were hungry. Some of his other lessons Ranma was beginning to question during this long stay in one place though.

Looking around, Ranma smiled slightly. The inside of the house was an odd affair with several dozen different interior designs shown, including a Greek pillar in one corner, a picture of the American Wild West, and a pair of sofas the origin of which Ranma couldn't guess at. When he'd first seen it Ranma had been surprised by it, but since then he'd simply seen it as a sign of the Hibiki's turning their curse to their advantage in a way, which Ranma respected.

"Wait there, I'll find something to drink." The Oyaji said, moving in the direction of what Ranma saw was the stairs up to the second floor rather than the kitchen.

"I'll get it," Ranma said quickly moving past the man. "Don't worry, I know where everything is."

A few moments later Ranma had made them some tea, and sat down across from the man in one of the sofas. After taking a sip appreciatively, Toro looked at Ranma closely. "So, do you do any meditation?"

Ranma nodded. "Some, concentration and mental organization stuff."

"Good, that will give us a starting point. Mind you I doubt you'll be able to learn this all in one go, but I'll give you the general gist of it and you can see how far you get on your own time."

The basic premise of the technique was simple. You basically took your ki, and pushed it out in a very thin wave in every direction around you. The wave could go as far as you had energy to power it. But the mental control over your ki was the most important part. Especially to Ranma since he understood it was the start of learning to do a lot more with his internal ki than just this one technique.

Ranma was able to visualize the act that first day, something which surprised Toro. But it took Ranma over two weeks to actually produce a wave, and even then it took him longer to figure out how to understand what he was seeing. Since Toru had unfortunately escaped his house at some point and disappeared, Ranma had done this through trial and error, helped by the fact that Ryoga came back.

"What do you mean you know one of my family's techniques?!" Ryoga growled angrily his hands clenching and unclenching as if to reach forward and grab the slightly less built youth in front of him.

"Easy Ryoga!" Ranma said holding up his hand specifically, having just told Ryoga about the technique as the two of them waited for homeroom to start. "Your father was at home a few weeks ago when I stopped by to get you and he taught me it so I can find you. He wants you to graduate on time you know, and apparently you can't do that if you keep on missing large chunks of the school year." Ranma shrugged. "I don't get the point of graduatin' really, but it seemed important to yer father, so I suppose you should probably look into it."

Ryoga rolled his eyes. "You know, there's more to life than just martial arts."

"Sure there are." Ranma said with a shrug. "It's just all of that craps boring, that's all. Anyway, you want to learn it or not?"

From there the two of them fell into a pattern, with each lunch starting with Ryoga trying to learn the technique for half the lunch period. But he had a **lot** more trouble with the visualization aspect than Ranma did. For one thing, he hadn't had any meditation training, something Ranma had surprisingly learned from Genma, as well as a few monks during stays in monasteries while they were on the road. For another, Ryoga had yet to develop the admittedly meager ki reserves Ranma had already. Angry at his failing, Ryoga would try to take it out on Ranma, starting their lunch fight.

This sequence of events continued over the next few weeks, though Ryoga insisted on paying Ranma back for the trouble of making certain he got to school and to all his classes by helping Ranma bring his own grades up. Ranma found himself actually enjoying history, though obviously more about the wars than about anything else, but still it was interesting stuff. Ranma also proved to be good at reading and writing with enough incentive. Foreign languages as well, which both of them excelled in, so much they were near to the college level in English, with Ryoga knowing several more languages, and Ranma knowing a smattering of a few Asian languages.

One day this cycle was interrupted however. Ranma showed up at Ryoga's house, knocking on the front door, but did not receive a reply, nor did he hear any sound of movement from within. "Oh, you've gotta…" Groaning aloud, Ranma moved to the back yard, jumping over the fence easily with a wave to a neighbor, an elderly woman who lived there with her equally elderly husband.

She waved back shaking her head sadly. "I don't think they're home, any of them."

Ranma paused flipping to grab the top of the fence and holding himself there in midair with an ease even Olympic-caliber gymnasts would have found hard to credit. "Do you know when Ryoga left?"

The woman's equally elderly husband came out of the house behind her, shaking his head sadly. "He apparently had a book out from the local library, and the library is just down that way." He pointed down the road. "Only a few blocks away, he must have wanted to try to get there on his own." The old man shrugged.

"I get it, thanks." Ranma nodded shaking his head sadly. He'd actually come to respect Ryoga's unwillingness to give into his directional curse. But frankly whatever his willpower, there was just some things Ryoga couldn't overcome, which was depressing when Ranma thought about it.

 _Damn it, and I thought he'd be here, I was lookin' forward to our fight damnit! Well I suppose I can see if he's still in the area_. Ranma thought without much hope as he flipped back off the fence. He'd learned that the more time that passed between when Ryoga disappeared and when Ranma found him, the greater the area Ryoga could cover.

After a moment Ranma shook his head letting his hands fall back to his sides. _Nope, though my pulse can't cover that much territory, about four blocks or so in every direction, so he could still be somewhere in the city._ Ranma didn't know, but that range was actually remarkable for someone so young. Then Ranma suddenly smiled. _The teachers're always angry when I show up without him, and I do have a method to search for him if he's within the city somewhere…_ With that Ranma 'reluctantly' decided it was his duty to skip class for the day to see if he could find his friend.

An hour later he'd decided to give up, it was obvious that Ryoga was nowhere within the city. But Ranma was in no rush to head back to school just yet either. Pausing on a roof, he frowned thoughtfully. _I wonder how far I can push that technique now, I've just been using it over the same area I used the first time, but can I push it out further now that I've practiced it so much?_ Thinking that, Ranma found a handy rooftop and sat down on the top of it, crossing his hands in front of his face.

Breathing in deeply he then let it out slowly expelling ki from his body out in the echolocation maneuver at the same time. A few minutes later he gasped, not only feeling it go much further than the first time, but also because he had gotten a huge reading from it. It was like the first time he'd felt his Oyaji's ki signature, only a million times more! _Wow, I didn't know there was a martial arts master of that level nearby! hell I didn't know anyone could have a ki signature that powerful!_ Ranma grinned suddenly _. I wonder if he'd be up for a spar? I'll probably get my ass kicked, but meh, wouldn't be the first time._

Ranma had been feeling a little antsy lately. He and Ryoga hadn't done nearly as much sparing as they used to and his Oyaji wasn't around to give a challenge. _This person though, if they're as good as that energy says they are, they'll give me all I can handle and then some!_ The thought was a cheerful one, and Ranma bounded to his feet, moving off over the rooftops towards the north of Tokyo proper.

 **OOOOOOO**

Miya Asama, newlywed wife to Takehito Asama, sighed looking down at the list that she had compiled, going through Takehito's old property. It had been left to him by his parents, but he had been away at college at the time. Then he'd moved on with his then-friend Minaka and others, traveling out to Kamikura Island where they eventually met. He stayed there for several years before coming back and living in the bachelor's quarters of the new tower that was being built in central Tokyo until he and Miya married.

For all these reasons no one had lived in the old inn for years, save his friend Seo occasionally when he was in town, and that just wasn't enough. A lot of problems had piled up in that time, hence her sigh. _Half the floor boards need repair, if not outright replacement, two of the doors are broken, we might have an infestation of rats on the second floor. The water and electricity are working, but the kitchen appliances could all be replaced._

She sighed again. _I've studied how to cook extensively, but I didn't realize I should also be studying carpentry, plumbing and all the rest. Darn it, this means that we'll have to rely on Seo._

She scowled at the very idea, disliking the other man intensely. He was a layabout, a pervert, and an all-around horrible individual, whose only saving grace was that he could pretty much turn his hand to any menial task that was on the offer. _I dread having him nearby when Take-chan and I are going to start sleeping together, ugh, that makes me feel dirty just thinking about it._

Suddenly Miya's eyes narrowed, a feeling coming over her as if a sensor Sekirei was practicing her powers. It wasn't the first time she'd felt that, though the epicenter of this one was much closer than the other few times. _I wonder what's causing that? I thought there were only the Disciplinary squad free of the tower at this point, did Yume add a sensor type? She'd be very young, but still a useful addition._

With a sigh Miya turned away from that problem going back to her original one. _I suppose I should also check the backyard._

There she added a few more items to her list. One tree needed trimming desperately and several of the shingles on the roof and the surrounding wall at the back of the property needed replacing. Weeds had also conquered the grass throughout the garden, though some of the vines growing along the walls were rather pretty.

She was just about to turn and go inside when a loud boisterous voice said "Whoa, this place is really run down, there's a martial arts master here, really? Dammit I sure as hell hope he ain't like my Oyaji."

Miya turned quickly, surprised at where the voice had come from because it had come from the roof of a nearby building. There stood a young boy, around 12 or so perhaps, standing there on the edge of the rooftop without a care in the world. From his expression though he looked a little irritated.

Before she could say anything the boy leaped off the edge of the roof. Gasping in horror at what she assumed was a suicide attempt, Miya made to dash forward but stopped in midstride as he bounced off the outer wall of the garden and landed neatly on his feet by the tree. He stared at her, then around before asking hopefully "I don't suppose you'd know if there's a martial arts master here?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Miya said, frowning. "And has anyone ever told you shouldn't suddenly jump into someone else's property?"

"Yeah lot's a people, but if there was a martial artist here, well, that kind of thing'd be normal." He frowned staring at her than around. "Coulda sworn the signal was comin' from this area…"

He closed his eyes bringing his hands together and a second later Miya felt it again. _It's coming from the boy! But, but he's human, isn't he? There were those other ships that should've been sent out, I suppose he could be a descendent of one of the other ships, though even so, he's a bit young._

She watched as the boy's eyes widened and locked on her. "Riiiiight…" he said drawling the words. "No martial artist master here, suuuure."

Feeling a sudden urge to tease Miya held up one hand delicately to her mouth covering her mouth as she chuckled. "Hohoho, I have no idea what you're talking about, I am just a normal newlywed wife."

"Pull the other one lady. You're the first female martial arts master I've met, but…" He shrugged. "That technique doesn't lie. My name's Ranma, and I'd like a match with ya please?" the boy said actually bowing his head, one fist clasped against his other palm formally below his chest as he did so.

"As I said I don't know what you're talking about." Miya said, narrowing her eyes of the boy. "Could you please leave now?"

Ranma frowned, moving forward quickly and getting in her face. A hand flashed out, and Miya automatically moved aside, her other hand coming up as if holding a sword but thankfully for the youth she wasn't. Even so her palm caught the boy in the forearm and he laughed, moving with the blow easily twisting away to come to a stop a few feet from her. "A normal newlywed, hah! Now, I have been nice so far, but I've been bored out of my gourd for weeks, and I want a match!"

"You are a rude little boy aren't you?" Miya said shaking her head sadly, but her brown eyes were glinting dangerously at his 'attack' on her. A probing attack true, but still technically an attack. It had absolutely nothing due to the fact Ranma wasn't treating her respectfully, nothing at all…

"I've been called worse." Ranma said with a laugh. "My Oyaji says that you have to continually strive to be the best, but he's so busy lately, and my only other sparring partner's been busy too, and just went missing today. Stupid Ryoga and his stupid pride." He muttered under his breath before turning his attention back to Miya. "Frankly I'm goin' stir crazy, and I want to challenge you! How am I supposed to get better with no one around ta spar with?"

 _Oh I'll give you a challenge, I'll give you all you can handle you rude little twerp!_ She thought angrily, irritated at the boy his attitude, the fact he was so persistent, yet could feel her ki and still thought he had a chance against her. "Wait here." She said abruptly, pointing at the ground underneath him. "I will be right back."

A moment later she returned, holding a sheathed blade. Ranma frowned at it. "Hoh?" Miya laughed. "Someone doesn't look as confident anymore."

Ranma shrugged. "Whatever, fighting someone who uses weapons is good exercise too." With that he cracked his knuckles and assumed a stance across from the woman. "Ready, set, go!" With that he tapped his feet hard on the ground, launching himself forward into the air. A kick flashed out, but Miya blocked it easily, moving far quicker than Ranma had expected. His pivot leg was grabbed, and suddenly Ranma found himself flying through the air.

To Miya's surprise however the boy actually used that to his advantage, bouncing off the trunk of the garden's tree and coming back on the attack swiftly. Even so, he was moving in slow motion to her senses and she batted his attack away easily.

She riposting swiftly, bringing up her sheathed sword for the first time smacking the boy's outstretched hand then quickly stepping into his guard bringing Herb but up into his chest. The boy grunted, yet somehow was able to get a hand in between his chest and the point of her sheathed sword pushing off it at the same time as she struck. He also for some reason stayed in the air, moving here there and everywhere around Miya using the power of Miya's strikes to remain there.

 _He's surprisingly good,_ Miya thought after a few moments of this. _I'm limiting myself tremendously here, after all I don't want kill him but even so this is surprising, especially for one so young. He's almost as good as some of the higher numbers_. "Tell me," she said conversationally, not showing any sign of exertion, despite the last few moments of hectic combat. "Who trained you?"

"My Oyaji for the most part." Ranma said grunting between each word and trying desperately not to lose control of his anger. The fact that the woman was handling him so easily was a blow to his pride. _I knew she had a lot of energy, but come on, even my Oyaji works ta beat me!_

"Interesting." Miya said then suddenly her hand flashed up faster than she had previously moved, grabbing Ranma's arm behind the wrist and pulling Ranma out of position before her sheath smacked into the side of his head sending him crashing to the ground.

She pressed the advantage and Ranma desperately backpedaled, trying to get back into the air where his mobility was more of an advantage. Very few opponents were able to handle aerial styles, which negated grappling and take downs for the most part as well as kicks. Kicks were almost impossible to aim properly with enough power against someone who was moving around in the air, especially against someone like Ranma who could easily redirect your strikes, using your own power against you to remain in the air.

Yet Miya didn't seem to be using kicks at all, instead she mostly used her sheathed blade with an occasional grab or palm thrust tossed in. Being handled so easily was actually disconcerting for Ranma. He'd sort of expected it given her ki, but it was **bizarre** to feel it actually happening. Yet Ranma still didn't give up, coming back and trying different moves to try and get an advantage.

All the while Miya handled him with kid gloves. She began to actually enjoy it, it was odd but fun to fight someone who was obviously enjoying the challenge but not taking it personally or out to really kill her.

 _And is it just me, or is he getting better as this battle goes along? He seems to be anticipating my attacks slightly now. He still nowhere close enough to my speed let alone my strength to be able to do anything about them, yet even so, it is interesting. Quite an extreme learning curve the youth has. Though honestly, I probably should've expected that given his age and that sensor technique he used. He really must be related to a Sekirei, though I wonder how far back. He's certainly well beyond human norm._

In fact Miya estimated that young Ranma could have easily defeated most of the soldiers that Miya had interacted with in the past. He was far faster, far stronger than his build suggested and durable. Miya was still holding back tremendously of course, but at least in speed she had been forced to step it up slightly several times. _His speed seems to be adapting far faster than his strength or durability, but his style is even odd._ _It's almost as if he was trained for midair combat, but why?_

Several moments into the fight Miya realized the answer to this, and gave a very, **very** grudging nod of approval in the direction of whoever had trained him. _Of course it does not make up for his general attitude, he is far too pushy and disrespectful! Hmmpf, the nerve of him, making a newlywed wife get out her blade once more._

With a faint hum Miya smacked Ranma back once again. This time he landed harder than normal since his foot tripped on a root, and he leaned against the trunk of the tree for a moment, knowing now that Miya wouldn't come after him, instead simply standing there like an immovable mountain.

Before he could attack again a voice from the doorway into the inn spoke up. "Miya-chan, can I ask what's going on here?"

Miya turned quickly, her head flying up to her mouth as she pouted, embarrassed at having completely lost track of time. "Dana-sama, I'm sorry I didn't hear you, that is, this boy, he…"

"My fault!" Ranma said with a laugh, flipping himself to his feet with ease, cracking his neck explosively before looking down at his body with a wince at the welts that covered both on his forearms. Those continued underneath his shirt and along one side in particular. "I got this new technique ya' know, and it allowed me to find your wife's ki, which is really monstrous, so I came and I sort of forced her to fight me."

"Really?" Takehito asked looking over at Miya in shock.

Miya shrugged her shoulders but nodded, indicating that the boy had pretty much told the truth but that she still understood she was at fault as the adult here. "He was rather rude, jumping into the backyard as he did, and well, I felt it necessary to chastise him somewhat, though I think that simply gave him what he wanted."

For a moment Takehito didn't know what to think about that really. A young child, a normal human by all appearances, able to not only feel what Miya was but actually challenging her? That was beyond bizarre in his opinion. He almost visibly set that aside for a moment, to return to something he could understand. "I see, well did you at least finish going through the house?"

"I did, and I'm not exactly happy with its condition husband." Miya replied, slipping into wife mode quickly. "Living here is a fantastic idea on many levels, but we have a lot of work ahead of us to make this place actually livable."

For a moment Ranma was forgotten as the two went over the list Miya had made, but both of the adults realized he was still there when he spoke up again. "Ya know, I could help out with a lot o' that."

"What do you mean young man? And what's your name?" asked Takehito.

Miya blushed a little realizing that she should've introduced the two of them. She stepped forward to do so but Ranma spoke up quickly. I'm Ranma Saotome, and I've learned a lot of different martial arts, Martial Arts Construction is one of 'em. Can't say I'm a master at it, but I'm good enough ta do most jobs."

Takehito laughed, thinking it a joke. "Martial Arts Construction? Where in the world did you get an idea like that?"

"It's a real school man, I studied it at this place down on Kyushu somewhere. I heard they were going to be opening a branch here in Tokyo in a few years, but I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it." Ranma said with a shrug, not realizing that no one but another martial artist would've even considered so esoteric a style as anything **but** a joke. He grinned pointing at Miya. "I'll make you a deal lady."

He winced suddenly as Miya's thankfully still sheathed sword came up smacking him upside the head. "That is Asama-san, or if you must Miya-san."

"Just because you are a martial artist does not mean you should forget your manners young man." said Takehito nodding his head.

Ranma blanched a little. "What're manners good for in a fight? I'd rather learn more techniques than spend time on that kind of stuff."

"Yes, but being able to relate to people might keep you from having actual enemies rather than sparring partners." Takehito said quickly, shaping the reality of the world to fit Ranma's apparent worldview with ease. The youth didn't seem mean-spirited or stupid, just too concentrated on one thing, and his manners were atrocious.

"Take now for instance. From what you and Miya said you basically had to irritate Miya-chan enough for her to agree to fight you. But if you had opened with the offer to help around the house maybe you could've gotten a free spar without irritating her so much that she went out of her way to leave some permanent reminders on your person."

Ranma shrugged looking down at his injuries again, laughing. "These are just part of the price ya gotta pay to be better. Still I can see what ya mean about gettin' off on the wrong foot an' all. How about I show you that I really do know about construction, and then you two can decide if Miya wants to continue ta spar with me."

"Teach." Miya said firmly, her brown eyes narrowing. "If you really do know anything about construction I will teach you. There is quite obviously much I have to teach you, not just about martial arts."

Ranma scoffed at that but nodded, willing to take the good with the bad while Takehito looked at her in surprise. While Ranma raced into the inn, He looked at his wife quizzically. "Are you sure about this Miya? I thought you wanted to leave violence behind entirely."

"I wanted to leave the Disciplinary Squad behind, it and your employer." she said her lips thinning as she mentioned that man. She suspected that he was not going to prove as trustworthy as she had hoped when she had woken up. But as yet she had nothing to base that feeling on, save for a certain uneasiness that had begun to develop within her whenever she was within the tower.

"Yes. The boy is a natural Take-chan, and judging by his strength and speed I believe he has some Sekirei heritage in his background. If that is the case, then in a way he is my responsibility as a Pillar."

Takehito rolled his eyes. "You know that's not true Miya, even before you stepped down as the Pillar it wouldn't have been true. Still, I suppose if he's as good as his word it'll be cheap at the price. Seo got back to me about working here, and we'd have to both put him up, feed him and pay him a stipend for his work. My friend's recently had a run of bad luck at the casinos unfortunately."

Miya stiffened and he held up a hand. "I know, I know you don't want him here. I don't particularly want anyone here either, at least for, oh, a week or so…" he said giving her a very direct stare that set her to blushing. "Though I would say that this place isn't exactly set up for the honeymoon I had hoped to give you."

Before Miya could formulate a response Ranma was back. "Okay, I fixed a bit of the floor in the living room and the table, just to show ya what I can do."

Dubiously the two adults followed him in, only to stop and stare. Where before the table set into the sitting area looked like it was about to fall apart, three of its four legs had been fixed while the fourth was being reinforced by several small loose pieces of wood. Several of the floor boards which had looked almost rotted had been replaced, and more than one loose floorboard had been repaired. "You did all that in just, what 10 minutes?" Takehito asked incredulously.

Ranma shrugged, waving his hand in the air swiftly, so fast Takehito had trouble tracking it. "I'm very fast." he said dryly.

For a moment the young couple shared a glance then Takehito turned to Ranma and nodded. "You're hired."

 **OOOOOOO**

Two weeks passed. Every morning Ranma would check and see if Ryoga was back, then go to school. Much to his irritation Miya refused to let allow him on the Inn's property during the normal school day, and somehow figured out how to tell when he had skipped but not come over.

Actually there was nothing mystic about it. Takehito had looked him up on his home computer, then called and talked with Ranma's homeroom teacher. The man had been grateful for any aid in controlling Ranma's wayward attitude, and leaped at the chance to ally with someone else equally determined to make the young man, who despite his attitude was obviously very intelligent, to stick with school.

At lunch and after Ranma dropped Ryoga off at home however was fair game. During the lunch period Ranma would come over to work on the house, making plans for what he'd do after school and buying anything he'd need for it thanks to a stipend from Takehito. For his first job he took apart the floor, replacing most of the floorboards that had rotted on the first floor. This was well beyond what Miya had found, since she didn't know how to test the flooring except by stepping on the boards and listening to the noises.

And after school, Ranma would continue on that until around four then train with Miya until around eight before breaking for dinner, which Miya set for then since it was the time Takehito came home. Over dinner Takehito would ply Ranma with questions about his education, the places he'd been and the esoteric martial arts schools he'd learned. The youth was bright, observant and quick, but getting him interested in anything but martial arts was like pulling teeth.

Ranma's training normally began with Ranma and Miya sparring, then with Miya showing Ranma several katas. Many of these were for a swordsman, but Ranma was more than willing to learn them, since, while he hadn't trained on weapons much, he did have some grounding in them. It was just that using weapons upped the ante in a fight that made him leery of becoming dependent on them. Miya also began to train Ranma in several strength and durability exercises.

The results of this training began to influence Ranma's skill almost immediately, to the point where Ryoga confronted him barely two days after returning from his latest lost trip. "Damn it Ranma, what the hell have you been doing lately?" He growled, punching Ranma on the shoulder while the two of them were making their way between classes. "And where the hell do you keep disappearing to during lunch anyway?"

"Yeah, sorry I've not been around for our daily fights man, but look at it this way, at least now yer able ta get the last melon bread." Ranma smirked as Ryoga scowled at him, but it was kind of true. Ranma always used his aerial ability to snag the last bread roll after the lunch lady threw it into the air. That had been the way they'd first met, and Ranma's habit hadn't gone away since.

"I got a job usin' my Martial Arts Construction skills at this Inn, and the owner's wife is a master swordswoman. She's been trainin' me, and as you can tell, it's made a major impact. Her husband, Takehito, he's also been helpin' me with my schoolwork."

"Huh." Ryoga grunted, then smirked. "Well, I suppose you need all the help you can get there." He was almost tempted to ask if the woman would be willing to train him as well, but he didn't know any Martial Arts Construction techniques. He knew some cooking and far more weapons skills than Ranma, but not those. And Ryoga was far too proud to go to the same teacher as his rival. _I'll have to open up my parent's room and get out some of their training scrolls if I want to keep up with Ranma. I just hope that raccoon family which moved in a few years ago hasn't eaten them…_

Ranma showed up at the inn later that day, bounding over the wall like a grasshopper, grinning as he saw Miya putting out some of the linens. "My sparring partner's started ta notice how much my skill's advanced under yer training Miya-nee! After only a few weeks too, that's incredible!"

Cocking her head, Miya narrowed her eyes. "What did you just call me?"

"Miya-nee." Ranma grinned at her. "Yer too young and pretty ta be a ba-san, and yer not my ka-san, so nee-san."

"Hmmfff, I think I'd remember having a younger brother as disrespectful as you." Miya huffed, thought behind her hand she was smiling slightly. Ranma grew on you sort of like the vines on the outer wall, as she had put it to her husband the other day. And his skills in martial arts was inspiring in one so young.

 _Although if I ever meet his father he and I will have… words._ Miya though grimly. Ranma had shared several tales of his training under his 'Oyaji' while on the road, and Takehito had briefly contemplated calling in the authorities on the man for child abuse. Ranma however simply saw it as good training, so the newlyweds had reluctantly decided to leave it be. But if Genma ever showed up here, he would be fair game for Miya.

"Now, I believe you will be completing the second floor today, correct?"

"Yep, two walls need ta be repaired, then a few of the electrical outlets, and two of the hallway lights need ta be replaced. After that, there's the roof and the outer wall ta work on, plus the garden if ya want me to."

"Sounds very good indeed Ranma, though can I ask you to not come by this weekend, or even until next Wednesday?" Miya smiled, her eyes gleaming with something that Ranma didn't have words for just yet. "My husband and I wish to have a few days to ourselves."

Seeing Ranma's blank look, Miya sighed. "He and I are newly married Ranma, and we haven't had much time to ourselves since."

Ranma shrugged. "Don't see the point, but whatever, sure. If ya can give me some exercises ta do on my own that'd be great. Heck, if I try I might be able ta finish everythin' but the garden before Friday."

"That sounds lovely, thank you." Miya said smiling and ushering him inside to where his supplies for the day had been placed.

Another few weeks passed, and with the work on the inn completed, Ranma's training under Miya began in earnest, producing even more results quickly. More than that, her cooking for him every night had a marked effect on his body. Ranma grew like a weed, adding several inches to his height, becoming as tall as Ryoga, amongst the tallest in their age group. Even his shoulders began to expand, and his previously wiry muscles began to grow as well. He would never be as heavily muscled as Ryoga, but he would be close.

Even though he wasn't home very often, Genma began to notice these changes in his son. At first he put it down to having a rival his own age to contend with daily, but after a time, Genma realized Ranma's skill was growing too quickly for that to be the true reason. And worse, in their last spar the boy had come close to actually winning! That wasn't supposed to happen for years yet!

The very next day instead of heading to work, Genma staked out his son's school from a nearby rooftop, then followed Ranma while he dropped off Ryoga and then went deeper into Tokyo proper.

Genma blinked in shock. _The boy's fighting some, some kind of landlady? NO, no way can that be the reason he's gotten so good lately._ His shock increased as the woman with purple hair dealt with his son with seeming ease, calling out corrections and instructions as she did so. _Who, who is this woman? I've never heard of a woman that was this good at martial arts! Damn it, this messes up the Plan entirely! If the boy decides to follow her style rather than our own, the Plan to unite the schools could be ruined!_

 _Worse_ Genma thought, while the two below continued their spar. _My authority over the boy is almost entirely based off my being his teacher, ever since the neko-ken incident he's stopped looking at me as a real father. I need to step up my game, and maybe get him away from here quickly if I'm to retain my position of authority over the youth. Damn it, those truant officers said they would send out an order for my arrest if the boy didn't finish the next two years of school, that would mean stopping somewhere else quickly, too quickly to get far enough away for the boy to not make his way back here. But there needs to be some kind of solution…_

He continued to watch the two spar and train, feeling a very grudging respect for the woman's strength and skill. _Hmmm… I wonder who would win in a battle between her and the Dreaded Master?_ He had a feeling it would not be the diminutive grandmaster of Anything Goes.

Miya frowned suddenly, looking away from Ranma and up at a roof nearby. Then she turned back to dueling with Ranma for a few moments until she trapped Ranma's arm under her own, smacking him along the side of the neck with her sheathed sword in what would have been a killing blow. "That is enough for the moment, I think. Could you look at the sink for me Ranma? The water doesn't seem to be heating as well as it should."

"Sure Miya-nee, but after that, I want ta keep sparring okay?" Ranma asked.

"Ufufufu, perhaps, or perhaps we will come back to it after another lesson on manners and how to speak properly, himm?" Miya laughed, and Ranma blanched before going inside, his head held low and a pout on his face.

Miya laughed again at his overacting. But the moment Ranma was out of sight, Miya turned, leaping the distance between where she had been standing in the center of the backyard to the roof where she had spotted something shining. She landed in front of an older, rather rotund man dressed in a dirty white gi, with a bandana on his head and small circular glasses.

She glared at the man. "I was thinking you were some unusual sort of pervert, but your son describes you rather well. Genma Saotome I presume? Might I ask why you are here?"

Genma scowled at her, getting to his feet from where he had fallen on his rear in shock at her sudden arrival. He tried to loom over the woman intimidatingly but the slight, purple-haired woman stared at him unflinchingly. "Yes, I'm his father and sensei, and as his sensei I order you to cease training the boy. He's already got a primary style, he doesn't need you and your soft teachings!"

"Soft?" Miya mused aloud, her brown eyes glinting dangerously. "Really, soft? Is that why he has already become faster, stronger, more dexterous? Or are you talking about my husband and I teaching him those things you should have, like the need for manners, the need to speak properly, to understand another person's point of view, the importance of anything outside the martial arts!? And don't think my husband and I haven't made Ranma share some of your training methods!"

A aura of dread and terror had begun to spread out from the woman, a black sort of miasma visible in the air, reminding Genma of a similar technique his master had used one time when his 'precious pretties' had been damaged. Only this technique wasn't done.

As Miya continued to speak, a hanya mask materialized alongside her head. It had black hair, seemed to be made of white porcelain, and its fangs and horns gleamed menacingly. It's eyes were deep pits carved out of the halls of hell, and they seemed to suck Genma in as the mask solidified.

"Now, you listen to me, you miserable excuse for a human being, it is only my wish to not alienate your son after making such progress with him that keeps you from dying on the point of my sword or at best in jail! You will leave, and not try to keep your son from coming to see my husband and I, or I will hunt you down, kill you and make your corpse into some kind of tasteless piece of furniture. Do we understand one another?"

 **OOOOOOO**

At a small cafe a few blocks away from where MBI tower was being built, Takehito suddenly smiled, looking off into the distance. "Ah… I sense that Miya-chan has finally used the Hanya Technique properly. Exxxceeelllent…."

Across from him his long time friend and confidant Seo Kaoru twitched. "Yay, great, whooppie, remind me to not come over for dinner for a few days. Maybe she'll forget how to use it."

"Not likely." Takehito said brightly, before taking a sip of coffee as Seo slumped in his seat.

 **OOOOOOO**

Genma trembled, using all his self-control to not run away screaming like a little girl or piss himself where he stood. "I, I understand… I, I'll stay away from this place, I promise."

Miya smiled coldly. "See that you do." With that, the hanya mask disappeared, and she blinked as Genma disappeared, fleeing away from her with a speed well beyond even Sekirei norm. "Oh my." She smiled faintly, falling into her role as housewife easily, though a certain gleam in her eyes gave her role the lie. "You'd think something had scared him, the poor man."

 **OOO Eight months later OOO**

Unfortunately, while Genma had been utterly terrified by Miya, and remained so for far longer than even his master had ever accomplished, eventually Genma overcame it enough to realize he had to get Ranma away from Miya's influence. He took his time however, training himself back up to his peak, and even adding a few new skills to his repertoire in order to keep ahead of Ranma. And then, as Ranma was waiting for Ryoga outside his house for a challenge match during the summer., ambushed him, dragging Ranma away and back on the road.

Ranma scowled as he came back from sending off a postcard at the local pot office, feeling the fact he had no cash left in his pocket rather keenly. _Calling back to Ryoga's house and leaving a message cost me all the cash I had left on my phone card, and sendin' a postcard to Miya-nee . Stupid long distance calls, still with that and with the message I left before my Oyaji cold-cocked me Ryoga shouldn't worry._ With a sigh he moved over to where Genma was leaning against the wall waiting for him scowling irritably at the necessity. "Well Oyaji, where do we go from here?"

"We'll follow the shore for now, hit up a few of the port cities and see if any of their dojo's have anything worth learning, before heading into Vietnam and then up to Tibet. You've come a long way in your ki manipulation, so maybe we can find someone to give us some instruction there. Then we'll head back into China through the Bayakala range before turning back to Japan. Now come on boy, you've gotten soft this past few months, so we're going to push the pace!" Genma growled, then raced off, causing Ranma to scowl but follow him.

 **OOOOOOO**

Xian Pu raised one of her chui in victory over her head, listening to the adulation of the crowd. This marked the third time she had won the coveted young adult competition among her people. Wining three times would allow Xian Pu to start challenging those older than her, even blooded warriors which would normally not be allowed. _It will be good to start challenging people who can give me a challenge without taking it personally or treating me like a youngster like grandmother always does._ Xian Pu thought sardonically, pulling her dark purple hair out of its ponytail and letting it fall loose down her back as she leaped off the challenge log.

She was met by a few of her friends, who congratulated her for yet another victory. Her rival Cot Ton did not of course, though she nodded in Xian Pu's direction. Xian Pu nodded back, reflecting that Luck often played a part in combat. Cot Ton had been done in by Luck, her sandal's straps coming undone and throwing off her footing just enough for Do-Wel to land one of her monstrously powerful but slow blows.

Even Xian Pu couldn't stand to take a punch from the monstrously powerful Do-Wel, and Cot Ton had been knocked straight off the challenge log. Even so Cot Ton had tried to regain control of her body midair, and had almost but not quite managed to catch at the log's end. _When next we meet in combat it should prove interesting, it's obvious that she's been practicing some new styles._

Suddenly there was a commotion to the side and one of her friend's voice shouted and angrily "Stop that panda! It's eating Xian Pu's prize!"

Xian Pu turned in that direction along with her other friends, quickly moving towards the victory table. There sitting as calmly as you please and eating the food she had just finished earning was a giant panda. Now, Xian Pu wasn't a gourmand by any means, but it was the principle of the matter. That food and the ability for her to decide who sat at the victory table with her mattered a lot to Xian Pu, one of the symbols of her primacy over the other girls in her age group. She growled angrily moving forward her chui in her hands shouting, "Stupid panda, I make you into a fur rug!"

When it heard her shout the animal looked up at her with something approaching human intelligence. It quickly pushed away from the table in an almost human maneuver standing on its back legs and growling. Yet it continued to stuff its face with its front paws.

"Stupid panda!" Shouted a voice in Japanese, a language that Xian Pu had begun to learn rather reluctantly a few months ago. Turning towards the voice, she saw a redheaded girl about her own age and somewhat similar in build (but not quite as busty Xian Pu was happy to see) race through the crowd of villagers followed by an outsider male who Xian Pu had seen before around the area trading for food.

The panda turned, his hands going up into what looked like some kind of stance, but before it could raise them the girl was in its face, a fist lashing out faster than Shampoo could track, catching it in the jaw. Seconds later the panda was down and unconscious, and the redheaded girl was looking mournfully at the table. Pulling from a net from her backpack, it threw the net over the panda, tying it up and then moving the panda's body this way and that until it made a ball inside the net.

While it the redhead was working on this met Xian Pu strode up to her shouting angrily. "Was that your panda? It ate my prize! I should challenge you for that!"

The girl turned to her and in very bad Putonghua answered. "It not panda, it man. Cursed man."

Xian Pu scowled, but crackling elderly voice interrupted her. "Do you mean to tell me you and the panda went to the Jusenkyou girl? Oh and you may speak Japanese, I can understand the tongue of Nippon well enough." Xian Pu turned, watching as her great-grandmother hopping her way forward on her staff. Many of the youngsters in the village thought was a pogo stick, and there had been an actual competition to see who could get close enough to steal it at one point, but no one had been able to.

Ranma was not having a good few days. Oh, the past few feet years had been okay, though Ranma felt he would've still learned more from remaining to train with Miya. While he hadn't learned any techniques during that half a year, his strength, speed and his ability to read his opponent had all improved under Miya's tutelage, and he also had learned some of Miya's own sword style, though he preferred not to use it unless pressed.

He'd begun to realize that might have been the reason why his Oyaji was so insistent that they set out, Genma was becoming intimidated by Ranma's progress. Nowadays it was a very rare spar where the Oyaji was even able to challenge Ranma. He no longer fell for most of the Oyaji's tricks to get him angry, and Ranma's 'base stats' as it were gave him an undeniable edge.

In response Genma had taken to actually learning from the same masters Ranma did during their trip, hoping to bridge the gap, something which had begun in Tibet. Now both of them were able to use ki attacks, small ones admittedly, though Ranma's were quite a bit better than his father.

But that changed when his Oyaji had the idea to go to Jusenkyou. At first it seemed like a normal training ground, a place where you went to train dexterity, footwork, and above all midair techniques. A place perfect for their family style in other words. And then Ranma had smashed his Oyaji into a pool only to watch a panda jump out.

 _And of course the old fool, since he was so fat and heavy anyway didn't notice the God damn change._ Ranma scowled, staring down at the two protrusions from his chest which were the sign of much of his anger the past few days. After Ranma had been smacked into a pool in turn, his Oyaji had run off not listening to the guide. Ranma however had stuck around and learned that hot water changed them back to normal. Then of course it had rained for two days straight.

 _Stupid whether, stupid curse, stupid Oyaji! I need to get a handle on this form, I need to go back home._ Ranma didn't know when on this journey Izumo House had become home to him, but it had and he was eager to see his nee-san again. If anyone can help me figure this form out, and the do's and dont's of it, it'll be Miya-nee. _I better get used to it now, there might not be a cure after all, since for normal people the pools curses merge rather than cancel out!_ And now, when Ranma finally arrived at the village where the guide said he might find someone able to point him to some sort of cure, his old man had beaten him there and made a bad impression.

He looked at the gnome on the stick, using all the lessons Miya had drilled into him about watching what he said to control his tongue for a moment. "Yes we were, and my fool of an Oyaji fell in." Ranma said, ignoring the fact the gnome had called him a girl. "Look, I'm sorry he let his stomach do his thinking for him, it's a hell of a lot smarter than what he has up here, ya know." he said tapping his forehead. "But I don't have enough money to pay, and I'd really rather not, you know, stay around and work for it."

At the word Oyaji Xian Pu blanched. "Grandmother am I right to say that she just said that panda was his father? As in he's both a human male, and old enough to be his father?"

"Yes granddaughter that's what she said, aren't you glad you didn't challenge it? If you had lost…" Cologne paused for a moment. Wanting to drive the lesson home she turned to Ranma and asked, "What does your father look like in human form, child?"

"About as tall as in panda form, about as fat, bald and with glasses. He's strong but slow, stupid lazy, good for nothing but martial arts, and even then, he only does as little as he can get away with!" With that Ranma finished pulling the net around his father in panda form, smiling as he nodded at the panda ball, happy with his work.

For her part Xian Pu blanched a pure white at Cologne's translation. There went any thought of challenging the panda for eating her prize. _And I can't challenge the redhead, not only would I have nothing to gain, but it wasn't her fault and she's showing remorse for it anyway. I'd look like a bully!_

She looked up as suddenly the panda ball rolled to a stop in front of her. Looking around it to the redhead, she saw the redhead wink at her. "Soccer?"

Xian Pu looked at the ball. Soccer was well known in the village, and excellent calisthenics exercise as well as training for working together, or so the oldsters tried to convince themselves. To the youngsters it was just a fun game, and more than one teen laughed at the idea of using the giant panda as a ball.

So Xian Pu smiled and nodded, racing away and shouting over her shoulder "kick to me!"

Swiftly the young adults around her moved into two teams, and Cologne sighed sadly, moving up over to the side of the field where she would act as referee. _I wonder if it will occur to my granddaughter to ask a few questions about the girl…_

For about an hour the panda was smacked between them. The redhead and Xian Pu each led their own teams, more often than not meeting in 'personal combat' their speed and dexterity a cut above most of them with only Cot Ton coming close.

The game only ended as the sun was beginning to set, and more than one warrior was holding her stomach eagerly talking about dinner. With the prize ruined, they would all have to head home for that, but still they all had a lot of fun today, not just the tournament but the impromptu soccer match with the giant blowup ball of a panda. Which was looking much the worse for wear after so long. It had woken up a few times, but been unable to break out before being knocked unconscious again.

Xian Pu sighed contentedly stretching her arms above her head and cracking her neck. Her team won in the end, thanks to Cot Ton taking the redhead's legs out from underneath her when she tried to intercept Xian Pu as she was going in for the final score. "Good fun!" She said nodding her head at the shorter girl. "Are you going to stay in the village for the night?"

The youth shook her head. "Best get on way, this one recover too quick." she said smacking the panda ball earning a grown from its battered occupant.

Xian Pu nodded, as Cologne and hopped up beside her. "Good luck on your travels then." she said shaking the other girl's hand.

Now next to her granddaughter, Cologne smirked internally, finally able to ask the question she probably already knew the answer to. "By the way child, you went Jusenkyou and it is the very unusual for anyone to go there and not get curse. What did you get cursed with?"

Ranma grinned, tapping his chest causing his new protrusions to jiggle and he glared at them irritably. _Dammit, if only these things to jiggle like that so much, I could've one that soccer game!_ Two days had not been enough for Ranma to figure out the differences in body weight and center of gravity, though she was close. _How do girls deal with the jiggle, what the hell? "_ This form my curse form."

Xian Pu blinked. "Wouldn't that mean there was no change?"

Cologne groaned. "Granddaughter, while you sound like a bimbo when you speak Japanese, that is no reason to act like one! Would you like to change forms before you go?" she asked politely. Inside however she was cackling evilly. This could be just another lesson for her young charge, one that might well stick even more than the other about looking before you leap and always looking at the underneath.

"Sure." Ranma said with a nod. "Trying to get used to this form, but it still not fun." He blinked as he watched Cologne pull a warm thermos out from a voluminous sleeve. "That interesting trick." he said dryly.

Cologne cackled. "When you get to be my age young man, you pick up more than a few interesting tricks."

"Grandmother, why are you calling her a…" Xian Pu stuttered to a halt as Ranma dumped the contents of the thermos over his red hair, which swiftly changed to black.

 _Tall,_ was Xian Pu's first thought, followed by _Humina-humina!_ The short redhead, which and only barely been up to her neck, now was a young man who stood at least 3 inches taller than her. Broad shoulders, broader than nearly any man in the village save the blacksmith's sons. Despite his wide shoulders he was lean and muscular, the muscles of speed and endurance rather than pure power matching his female form perfectly. The blue eyes were the same, though staring up at them was a very different experience than staring down into them had been. And where the smile on the redhead had been cute, on the male's face it set Xian Pu's pulse to racing.

"Well anyway, thanks for the water, and I'm sorry again for my old man, but we gotta get going." So saying in Japanese the youth turned, nearly causing Xian Pu to squeal at the sight of the most perfect male ass she had ever seen as he leaned down and picked up the panda with ease.

With a final nod towards Xian Pu and a bow towards Cologne Ranma said "Drop by if you're ever in Japan, I'd tell ya our exact address but we don't have one just yet." With a laugh, Ranma took off, racing out of the village ignoring the odd looks from the women and especially the young girls all around, who had stopped and stared at the transformation.

"I told you which several times child that going to Jusenkyou is to simply get a curse, and if she was a girl now, with the rain we've had, surely it should've occurred to you that that youngster was a man to begin with? And attractiveness carries over to the other form, as I have also told you. Remember the tale of Clip Per and her panther suitor? If you had, I might've allowed you to challenge **him**! A kiss of marriage could have easily solved your little suitor problem with Mousse. Too late now."

She looked at Xian Pu and noticing her shocked gaze stopped talking and began to cackle. The cackle broke Xian Pu out of her momentary stasis, and Xian Pu reached up to her head and started to curse of the top of her lungs.

 **OOOOOOO**

Ranma scowled internally as he tried to keep control of his face. He **hated** this. He hated being judged by his curse. The middle daughter, Nabiki, at least had been happy to see him, until she found out that the 'he' she'd been expecting wasn't a 'he' at the time. And now that she'd found out about the curse she was trying to push Ranma onto the youngest sister, something which Kasumi, the oldest one, had jumped on.

 _I don't really blame her or Kasumi, but this is still a raw deal for me. I mean sure Akane's got the fact she seems to think she's a martial artist, but she's not a very good one. And given her ranting now and the fact she was about ta kill me for her coming into the bathroom when I was already in there, I don't think we're going to get along very well. So much for being friends._

"Now hold on." he said holding up a hand as Akane stopped complaining to her sisters. "Your old man said it was my decision right? That means whatever you three decide between you doesn't matter, I'm the one that's got the final say!"

Nabiki winced, while Kasumi looked a little thrown off. Soun laughed. "Yes of course, but it's obvious that you and Akane have more in common than you and my other two daughters so…"

"We've only known each other for a few hours, I'm not going to make a decision that's going to affect the rest of my life that quickly." Ranma said firmly.

"Now see here boy!" Genma began to say, only to be cut off as Ranma's fingers flashed until they were right up against his larynx.

"Shut up Oyaji, the adults are talking. Now," he said turning back to the Tendo family. "I'm not going to decide who I want to marry right now, or even **if** we're going to marry. Yes there is some kind of honor promise between you two ta unite the houses, but that's not enough, since there was another condition to it."

"How dare you!" said Soun glaring angrily at him from across the table. "That oath is a bond of honor! Do you have no honor!?"

"Yes I do, which is why if I ever marry I'd prefer ta marry someone who I could live my life with happily with rather than someone I was forced ta marry. Or are you saying you don't care about your daughters' happiness."

"Are you saying you wouldn't make them happy!?" Soun growled, trying to turn Ranma's words around on him.

Kasumi and Nabiki however exchanged a glance as did Akane, who nodded her head slightly. Nabiki spoke up. "He's got a point daddy, while the idea of arranged marriages is still used, making it formal so quickly isn't. There's always a courting period, to see if the two people who are going to marry are compatible." She gave a brief nod towards Ranma, who nodded back. "How much time do you think it would take you to figure out if you're compatible with one of us?"

Ranma shrugged. "Well, I'd say at least a year, no two years. I'm 16, so two years and I'd be 18 we could marry then I suppose unless that;d get in the way of any future plans you all have?"

"Two years!?" both parents shouted. "Now see here!"

"That's actually perfect." Nabiki said with a nod. "Your 16, so you'd be what, a freshman in high school?"

"Sophomore I think." Ranma said with a grin. "I can pass any language requirement right now. I can speak English like a native, decent enough Putonghua, Guoyu, and both standard and formal Tibetan." He grimaced a little. "My Vietnamese isn't anything to write home about though. My reading and writing skills are better than sophomore level. My hard sciences are kind of bad though, I barely passed the last test I took. Really I'm just guessin' on the sophomore thing."

Nabiki's eyes widened in astonishment. Learning languages was incredibly difficult, and being able to have learned several languages while on the road for most of his life, that showed a very high intelligence. "Interesting," she said aloud. She was still very freaked out about the fact that magic was apparently real, but that didn't mean she was blind to the fact that it in either form Ranma was quite the catch.

Kasumi however was cocking her head thoughtfully. "You said that a marriage between our houses had a condition. While I understand, respect and even approve of your stance on its making the individuals in question happy, that actually wasn't mentioned in the marriage agreement apparently." It took all of Kasumi's willpower not to glare at her father for that. "What exactly was the condition you mentioned?"

"Well the fact, that there'd have to be two schools of martial arts coming together. No offense to Akane, but I didn't see any moves from her in our spar that looked like a distinct school, mostly I saw Judo, with some karate here and there."

That caused his father's brows to knit together and he closed his mouth mid-harangue. "Really?" He turned to his old friend. "Soun, haven't you been training your heir as you said you would?"

"How could I train my precious daughter?!" Soun bawled, looking as if he was about to burst into tears or attack Genma for the very idea.

Akane however looked a little interested. "Daddy, you know I'm a martial artist, I can take some punishment! If this has to be a union of schools that means we have to show our worth!" in response her father looked about to tear up again, and she shook her head in disgust.

"I think you two need to work that out on your own." Ranma said standing up. "So are we agreed on the two year thing? 'Cause I got a place I want ta get to."

Soun and Genma both turned back at that, looking like they wanted to object for a moment, but Kasumi and Nabiki beat them to it agreeing quickly. "Agreed, we'll talk to daddy about it."

Kasumi cocked her head. "May I ask where you're going?"

"I have a few friends I want to look up your in Tokyo."

"It's Shin Teito now." said Nabiki. "The name was changed a few months ago."

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah I heard about that, some company having bought practically all of the land under the city. Don't know why the government allowed that, but whatever."

"Boy I told you to stay away from that woman!" Genma growled. "She's made you soft!"

"Soft!? Her training is the reason why I can kick your ass old man, despite you taking me out on the road for so long." Ranma laughed.

Akane looked interested and Ranma shook his head. "No, I'm not going to introduce you to her, I don't know you well enough just yet."

Once again putting one of Miya's lessons in manners to use Ranma looked over at Kasumi cocking his head to one side. "Since I'm going out anyway, is there anything ya want me to pick up on my way back?"

Kasumi actually smiled at his thoughtfulness, tapping her finger against her lips thoughtfully. "Let me check on the condition of the guest room's linens and futons. We haven't used them in years, so I haven't aired them out for quite a while. And if there's anything you like in terms food…"

"We're both easy about that kind of thing." Ranma said with a grin, slapping his hand over his father's mouth before he could interject anything.

He knew Genma wouldn't have asked for anything for specific, just for a lot of everything. But frankly Ranma had looked around the house and he wasn't certain the Tendos could afford to feed the two of them without at least Genma getting a job. It was a very nice house, but there hadn't been any evidence of students using the dojo in a long time. And while everything was clean and orderly, they didn't actually have a lot of modern appliances.

 _Not that they need it,_ Ranma thought, reminded of the bathroom. That area reminded him greatly of the bathing area in Izumo House, after he had finished repairing it anyway. _Speaking of that_ … he raised a hand quickly. "Before I forget, I've got some martial arts construction experience I learned years ago. So if you need anything around the place repaired, don't hesitate ta ask."

Nabiki and Kasumi both smiled at him, while even Akane looked grateful for the offer. "That's very thoughtful of you Ranma," Nabiki said. "Thank you, that'll help on the expenses around the house." She shot a little glare at her father for that one, but that was an old argument between them.

"Cool," Ranma replied, standing up fluidly. "So let's find those linens, and then I can head out and see Miya-nee again."

Genma watched his friend's eyes narrow, and waved his hand frantically. Soun subsided, waiting. Kasumi and Ranma quickly left to go up to the attic while Nabiki had headed back to her room, shaking her head and muttering about why the hell magic was real, and how it spoiled everything.

Now that they were alone Soun stared hard at all the Genma. "You're not concerned about your son going to see this, this woman he calls nee-san? What if she's interested in him, what if he's interested in her! That would totally derail the agreement between our families! And your son is already much more independent than I expected."

Genma scowled angrily. "Hmmpf, that's the witch's fault, but don't think she's a normal woman by any means." He shuddered, remembering the one time he had met the woman, and that aura of absolute terror she'd called up. It had utterly terrified him at the time, even more than the master had at his worst.

"BRrr, b-but she's a married woman, and is not interested in him in that fashion. If anything they are more of a master and student relationship, with a hint of older sister and younger sibling as the boy's nickname for her shows." He smiled suddenly, wrapping his arm around Soun's shoulder. "Don't worry old friend, the union of our families will still happen! The boy's shown no interest in the female form, even now that he has one! Now that we're here however, one of your daughters is sure to catch his eye. They're all quite attractive after all."

A moment later Ranma and Kasumi returned, with Kasumi smiling. "The bedding and the extra futons are fine father, though I've asked Ranma to pick up a few more bags of rice for us. Can you think of anything else we need?"

Ranma held up a finger pointing at his father. "And that doesn't mean extra sake for you fatty!" Genma growled angrily, and Soun frowned dropping his own hand down when Kasumi looked at him with her saintly smile on her face. Somehow speaking up in the face of that smile for the sake of more sake was impossible.

With the two older men silenced Ranma turned to Kasumi, gave her a little wave and hopped out of the open door to the backyard, then out and away over the outer wall. Watching this Kasumi chuckled shaking her head. "It's been years since I saw someone roofhop. Why don't you do that anymore, father?"

Under his friend's suddenly narrowed eyes Soun coughed uncomfortably then looked away. "Ahem, yes, well, I'll get out the shogi board shall I old friend? It's been forever since I faced another practitioner of Anything Goes Shogi."

That made Genma smile eagerly and Kasumi sigh while Akane, who had come down to grab her bookbag from the living room scowled slightly, jealous at the sight of Ranma bounding away. _Showoff._

But her heart wasn't in it. Instead Akane sat down to her father, leaning in eagerly. "So daddy, since this whole agreement thing **is** about the two schools uniting rather than just the two families, are you going to start training me again?"

Soun coughed uncomfortably, looking away again. "Not right now daughter, Genma and I are going to play Anything Goes shogi, we'll talk about restarting your training this weekend. Or maybe the next…" he petered out under his youngest daughter's glare, and he quickly fell back to his staple defense, blubbering aloud. "Wahh, my daughter's angry with me, waaaahhhh!"

It worked. Akane scowled, pushed herself away from the table and stomped off angrily. Genma however stared at his old friend, wondering at how out of shape his old friend was. Not realizing how his friend was looking at him now, Soun triumphantly got up to get the shogi board without answering any more difficult questions.

 **OOOOOOO**

Ranma leaped around Nerima, then out into Tokyo proper. Immediately he noticed a difference in the architecture, and frowned, wondering what that was about. Well that and the sheer number of empty lots back there was just weird. I wonder if that means there are a lot of martial artists around? For challenge matches and things like that those lots'd be a good idea actually.

In the rest of Tokyo however he noticed something else. _What the heck, what's up with all the cameras scattered everywhere?_

Every roof he stopped at had at least four video cameras. They weren't all pointed outward either, many of the cameras covered their own roofs or that of the neighboring buildings. _Some of 'em could serve as security cameras, but the others? And there's too damn many of 'em. I wonder if it's a… what's that bigass company's name, the one Takehito worked for and apparently bought out Tokyo, MBI, I wonder if it's an in MBI thing, I don't think it can possibly be a security thing._

 **OOOOOOO**

In MBI tower, a video operator frowned as he looked at his readings. "How many male Sekirei are there again?"

The on-duty manager looked over at him. "Two or three I think, why?"

"That's what I thought but… he's gone again."

"Whose gone again?"

"Nevermind, I think it might've been my imagination, too many hours staring into this thing."

 **OOOOOOO**

But that wasn't the only unusual thing that Ranma noticed as he raced over the skyscrapers and other buildings. No, that was the fact that there were several dozen other people going about roof-hopping and most of them were women. One or two of them stopped and stared at him, but Ranma was moving faster than any of them, and he simply waved at them as he raced nearby. One of them shouted something, but he didn't hear it, moving away as he was.

At one point Ranma saw a woman dangling off a girder sticking out of a half completed skyscraper. She was dressed sort of like some of the women he had occasionally seen hanging around the wharfs in some of the cities he and his old man had stopped in, or at least her costume hugged her body the same way, Ranma wasn't close enough to see more than that. Still when the she looked at him Ranma waved, and saw her wave back, a bottle of sake dangling from one hand as she did.

 _I don't remember there being this many martial artists in Tokyo before, is there some kind of convention all woman's convention or something, going on? Hell, I didn't even know there were this many female martial artists in all Japan that could roofhop._ Not one of them that he had seen so far had been a man.

Putting that aside for now Ranma stopped for a moment, trying to get his bearings. There were a few new buildings around and several older ones had been pulled down since he'd last been in Tokyo, which threw off his memory of the city. _Is it straight north from here, or should I head a little further towards the east first?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a shout from on high. "Thou Dishonorable louts! No mere monkey will ever wing me, it matters not what numbers thou dost bring against me! I am the strongest, and I will never submit!" That shout was followed by a sound resembling that of a fast moving waterfall for some reason, followed by a curse from someone else.

Ranma frowned, looking up at a skyscraper next to the small outlet store on whose roof he had stopped on. _That doesn't sound good, though what the heck is winging? Figure that out later, for now I think I just found a fight._ He smirked eagerly, then leapt upwards, easily ascending the outer wall of the skyscraper before jumping up to its roof.

Arriving on the roof Ranma found himself to the side of a fight between two opposing forces. On one side stood four women, facing one.

One had wild green hair with a long staff, wearing a blue and white tight top, long gloves and stockings held up by what Ranma thought were some kind of suspenders for legs over her bloomers and thigh length white boots. Next to her stood a younger girl that had short blonde hair. She wore a black leather top which showed off her belly, bloomers and stockings just like the other one, only a different color. From her fingers there were long whips, though Ranma wondered how the heck they could be considered a weapon. A third wore what looked like a kimono style dress, sort of the thing a kunoichi would wear, with no sleeves and white gloves. She had long black hair done up with a ribbon.

The fourth woman wore what looked like a priestess outfit, and had dark black hair done up in two ponytails. She had two long triangle shaped blades in her hands, and a almost panicky expression on her face.

This increased as she dodged to one side, letting out a small, quite cute "Eeek!" as an attack aimed at one of the others nearly hit her. She was still hit by it slightly, losing one of her blades but redirecting the torrent of water just enough for it to splash Ranma, turning him into a her for now.

The woman on the other end of that waterspout had to dodge an attack from the woman with the whips, cursing as she noticed Ranma. "So thou hast brought a fifth cur to do battle 'gainst me, it will avail you not!" She was a blonde-haired woman, wearing a black and white blouse of some kind. That was about all Ranma could tell before the two close combat specialists closed with her while the other two women looked at Ranma, frowning, since they knew the redhead wasn't with them.

Ranma grinned cracking her neck and shoulders for a moment. "Y'know, I like a fight as much is the next person, but four on one just doesn't seem fair. Mind if I join in Blondie?"

"My name is not Blondie, but if thou dost wish to address this imbalance, be my guest!" The embattled woman said, ducking under a blow from the staff that would've taken her head off then having to twist to one side as the kimono-wearing girl nearly caught her in the shoulder with a palm strike.

"Stay out of this Red! You'll get your turn soon!" said the green haired girl, not turning away from her opponent. "if you're not already winged I'm certain our master will oblige you."

"No idea what that means, but since Blondie gave her permission, let's go!" Ranma said, charging forwards.

The whip wielding girl turned to him, snapping her weapons at Ranma. "My Sekirei-sister told you to butt out bitch!"

Ranma shook his head grinning evilly as he leaped into the air propelling his body forward like he was diving and twisting in midair, dodging between the whips as they flew past. His fingers lashed out, grabbing the whips before landing, rolling and pulling in one smooth motion.

"W-gahh!" As Ranma had expected, the whips were connected by a grip in the girls hand, and she hadn't tried to let go of it before Ranma had pulled her off her feet. One second she was standing there attacking, the next she was in midair, squealing in shock as she was launched out into midair with such force she lost her grip on her whip's handle and went cartwheeling away through the air.

Ranma jumped over a blow from the blade wielder tapping his feet against her outstretched arm, propelling himself into the air and over the girl, still trailing the first girl's whips, kicking out and almost catching her in the back while she let out another cute "Eeek!" and launched herself forward.

Not letting up Ranma pressed her sharply, pushing her back into the fight around the blonde girl, who was being pressed hard by the last two. She seemed a long-range combatant by preference, using that weird water technique, which frankly Ranma was amazed by now that he thought of it, but she didn't seem to have very good hand-to-hand skills.

Her opponents on the other hand were very obviously close combat experts. The blonde girl was now bruised and battered, though showed no sign of slowing down just yet.

When the girl he was fighting over-extended in a desperate attack Ranma smacked a palm thrust into her chest, flinging her backwards into the staff-wielding woman fighting the blonde girl, then as that one staggered Ranma twisted to one side lashing out with a high kick that the staff-wielder barely redirected. Even so the staff shattered, and one of its bits caught her in the cheek. "God damnit! Who the hell are you Red!?"

"Names Ranma, remember it!" Ranma laughed, taking the staff-wielders legs out from under her while the blonde pressed her advantage against his original opponent and the unarmed girl, who had tossed the broken bits of her sword aside and attacked with her fists and legs now. "Suiryu!" She shouted some kind of technique for moment, and a blast of water slammed into the unarmed girl's chest with enough force to carry her into the knife-wielder then smash them both through the roof's guard-wall and off the roof entirely.

Realizing she was alone now the spear-wielder disengaged from Ranma, leaping across backwards to another rooftop. "Another time Red, Blondie!" With that she jumped down and away.

Turning to the supposed victim in this affair, Ranma cocked his head. "Why exactly were they attacking you anyway, Blondie?" he asked turning to the woman.

He found himself drenched suddenly as the woman held up a hand. "I am not Blondie stranger, I am Tsukiumi, Sekirei zero-nine." She then calmed down, put one hand on her hips as the other raised to move through her hair as she looked away, somewhat sheepishly. "I am… grateful for thy assistance. Four on one, especially when two were such skilled opponents, would have been hard to handle even for one as skilled as I. Yet who art thou? I have not seen you before though, that matters not. I had met very few of my sisters before we were let out for this farce."

There was a lot in that sentence that Ranma didn't understand, but he shrugged off for now, trying hard not to stare at the girl. She was a few inches taller than him, possibly as tall as his male form and she looked about two years older or so, maybe more. But it wasn't her height or her apparent age that caught Ranma's attention. No, now that the fight was over Ranma realized that she was an **astonishing** beauty. _The other girls were good-looking, but this one!_

Long black boots with black stockings framed long, firm, powerful looking legs that seemed to go on forever under a long black coat open at the front with a very short, white under dress over what Ranma could tell was a hard, muscled stomach which segued into the largest chest that Ranma had ever seen. Seriously they were almost impossible for him to ignore despite his usual disinterest in such things, but here it was actually easier because her face was also drop dead gorgeous. Firm high cheekbones framed lips lifted into a faint smile at the moment without a hint of make up or lipstick anywhere. Azure eyes locked on Ranma's own, lighter and brighter than Ranma's, at least in his opinion. Her Blond hair flowed down and around her body in waves, which given her power was fitting. _Blessed Amaterasu, she is gorgeous!_

Looking away forcibly, Ranma was grateful that the girl hadn't noticed him staring. "um, I, I'm Ranma, and I heard you shouting at the beginning of the fight, I think, and decided to see if you need any help." He shrugged normally. "I wouldn't butt into someone else's fight, but since it was four-on-one I figured it'd be okay. How do you do those water techniques anyway?" Ranma was actually a little jealous, he had felt some kind of ki splash from Tsukiumi when she used her techniques, but nowhere near enough to figure out how she was doing whatever it was. _Maybe she pulls water from the air and condenses it, but that's well beyond any ki technique I've ever heard of. Elemental control like that sounds more like magic than ki! Although, I do know magic exists, so maybe that ain't as far-fetched as it sounds._

"I too very much prefer even fights, one-on-one is the only true test of a warrior." Tsukiumi nodded. "As for my powers, I am the Sekirei of the waters. All water is under my control." She threw her head haughtily back smirking at him. "That is why I in the strongest!" She frowned then. I presume that thou art un-winged as well, but why dist thou not say your number? Tis only courteous to do so."

"What is this number thing you keep talking about?" Ranma asked. "And whats' winging anyway?" I'm not one of your sisters or whatever you're thinking of."

The girl's eyes widened. "Though dost not think though art a mere human? Impossible!"

"Hah, I didn't know there was anything else to be but 'mere human' Ranma said laughing and holding up his fingers making quote marks as he said the words 'mere human' . I'm not 'mere' anything Tsukiumi get that out of your head! I'm a martial artist!"

"I have seen martial artists in movies…" she said dubiously, "though I thought they were simply special-effects." Tsukiumi was actually wondering if the redhead had taken a blow to her head at some point, and simply forgotten that she was a Sekirei. It would be odd, but not nearly as odd as a human being able to fight Sekirei. That would just be impossible, wouldn't it?

"Most of them are, but there are real martial artists out there that make that Hollywood crap look stupid as hell." He looked up at the sun frowning. "Look, I gotta go, I need to say hi to an old friend and I don't know if I'll be able to find where I'm staying once the sun goes down." He held out his hand, and Tsukiumi shook it. "I'll see you around I guess."

Tsukiumi nodded. "Thank you once again for your aid. It might not have been totally necessary, but it certainly made things easier." She added hastily

"Yer welcome, it was fun. Er…" Ranma paused looking at her hopefully. "I don't suppose you can heat the water in your attacks can you?"

"I'm afraid not, why, dost thou want another bath?" Tsukiumi laughed.

Ranma laugh to shaking his head. "Nah nothing like that, though I guess it'd be easier to show you, but some other time. Like I said, I gotta go." With that Ranma turned and leaped away landing on another roof and heading north.

Behind the redhead Tsukiumi cocked her head to one side. _I wonder what Ranma could show me with hot water that she could not with my normal tepid water?_ _She was very skilled though, it's so sad that she seems to have had a head wound at some point. Tis always nice to meet one of my sisters who is not enamored of this game in any event, whatever her reasons. She was also cute for such a little thing…_

Tsukiumi blushed as that thought hit her, shaking her head. _While that wouldst be better than being attracted to a hairless monkey, tis not that much better._

 _In any event, I need to find a place to stay for the night._ She frowned hopping up onto a rooftop nearby as she stared around looking for a hotel. _Say what you will about MBI, at least they have some knowledge that we need to be able to look after ourselves,_ she thought as she pulled a black credit care out of the small pocket of her skirt. _And after that exercise I think I deserve a treat. I'm thinking French tonight. Pity, if Ranma was willing to stay around I would've treated her for aiding me today. I dislike being indebted to someone, even if that someone doesn't seem to realize the depth of it._

 **OOOOOOO**

It was silent in the video control room, as the overseer frowned frantically searching through the Sekirei database. "I'm not getting any hit on a short buxom redhead named Ranma, what the hell!?"

"Well, either the records have been altered, or something interesting has been added to the game!" said a voice from the doorway. They all turned President Minaka there, his cape flying out behind him as he stood, one arm thrust out dramatically. "The game of the gods needs to have some wildcards in it after all!"

He smiled, pushing up his glasses which gleamed in the light of the computer screens and the overhead lights. "Still, extend the research out to include national databases, and any public sightings of a redhead matching that description. Just because someone acts as a wildcard does not mean they can be unknown to the game keeper."

As the computer specialists all nodded obediently, Minaka turned away, but he paused, looking back over his shoulder. "Oh, and please don't share this development with Takami-chan. She's busy enough as it is, no need to bother her with something so minor is there?" Despite his bland tone, his eyes and face made it clear that was an order, and everyone in the room nodded obediently. He nodded back and left, laughing as his cape once more billowed behind him, dramatically, of course.

 **OOOOOOO**

About thirty minutes after leaving Tsukiumi behind, Ranma finally began to recognize houses from his time training at Izumo house and smiled excitedly. Pausing for a moment he looked around to see if he could find somewhere to get some hot water. Seeing a convenience store he popped inside, asked for some hot water from the tea dispenser and went outside dumping it over his head turning back to his normal body.

 _Can't show up on Miya's doorstep in my new body after all, I got no idea how Miya-nee's gonna react ta that._ He smirked suddenly. _Except for maybe pushing her over the edge and getting' her ta hunt my old man down and turn him inta a rug._ Ranma had no problem remembering how furious Miya and Takehito had both been when informed of some of the training Genma had put Ranma through, and he hadn't shared the worst stories either.

Now in his male form Ranma once again took it to the rooftops. _That's odd_ he thought after a moment. _I don't see as many cameras in this area, is that because it's mostly a housing district, or somethin' else? Weird._

Seconds later Ranma was looking over Izumo House from the roof of a nearby house. He paused there, debating internally whether or not to go to the front door and ring the doorbell, or hop into the backyard for old time's sake. _It has been a long time, I suppose I should go to the front door. Nee-san likes those kind of manners I suppose._

With that in mind, Ranma leaped down to the road, and made his way to the front door of the inn, where he quickly rang the doorbell. For a moment there was no reply, and he pushed it again.

"Yeah, yeah, just a sec!" Said a female voice, but it wasn't Miya's.

 _They could've had a kid in the time I was gone I guess, but sure as hell not one that sounds that old. They did say this was an inn, so I guess that could be a tenant, though I never thought Takehito'd actually open it up to other people really._

The door opened, and Ranma blinked in astonishment, looking away quickly. "What the hell woman! Who answers the doorway dressed like that!"

The girl was a brunette who was almost as good looking as Tsukiumi with even larger breasts which before this moment Ranma would've said was impossible. She was in just as good a shape as Tsukiumi, which Ranma could tell because she was currently wearing only panties and a tight white shirt that barely covering her chest, leaving her stomach exposed.

"Hah, don't talk like you don't like it kiddo, you'd have to go a long way to find a sexier girl than me! What can we do for you anyway?"

"But some clothing on first." Ranma growled, still looking away.

He blushed hotly when the girl suddenly reached out, throwing her arms around her his back and breathing into his ear. "Oh come on, you can look at little old me."

Realizing he was being teased Ranma let one hand fall to his side right next to the girl stomach and began to move his fingers, tickling her. The girl giggled and jumped away, her face flushed for a moment.

Ranma glared at her, keeping his eyes on hers with difficulty. "How the heck did Miya-nee and Takehito-san let someone like you stay here?" He grinned suddenly, his mood shifting quickly. "Do you have some dirt on them or something?"

The girl laughed, shaking your head. "I like the way you think, but no nothing like that, we're just old friends and she lets me stay here for old time's sake."

"Uzume, what has Miya told you about answering the door like that?" said a male voice, though it wasn't Takehito. a tousle-haired older gentleman, around 25 or so, with silver hair and a bishonen face appeared behind the girl in the doorway, rubbing at his hair. He looked as if he had been in the shower, and he stared at the younger man with the ponytail, his brow furrowed. "Who are you?"

"You another tenant?" Ranma asked. The man nodded still looking at him somewhat suspiciously and Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "I'm Ranma Saotome. I'm here to see Miya-nee. I've been away for a few years, but she and I used ta train together, so I figured I'd tell her I was back."

The man's eyes widened and so did Uzume's. "Train together, really?" The two exchanged glances. "Are ya sure you have the right inn?" Uzume asked.

"Dark purple hair down to the small of her back, brown eyes, likes ta dress like a housewife complete with apron? Takehito and her can both summon up these masks tha, are like made of terror?" Ranma asked, smirking.

Uzume blinked. "Yeah that's them, I think…" Again she looked at the unintroduced man, who shrugged. "You seem to know Miya so I suppose it's all right. Kagari, could ya show him into the sitting room, I'll go get change before Miya show's up and uses that damn mask on me again."

With a sigh the now-named Kagari gestured Ranma into the Inn, and Ranma entered, leaving his shoes behind and moving forward smiling as he noticed the interior hadn't changed. "When was the last time you saw Miya-san?" Kagari asked.

"About 3 years ago or so I think, on the road you're not exactly able to keep track of time most of the time, especially when you're in the boonies." Ranma replied.

 _So this isn't some Sekirei that escaped earlier than Uzume or Matsu,_ Homura, the Sekirei of fire thought. _Interesting, but why would Miya of all people agree to train him?_

When he asked that question aloud, Ranma laughed. "I challenged her ta a match when I was younger, came by because I was looking for someone to fight. my oyaji was busy with work at the time, and I'd had this new technique to find large ki signatures."

He looked at Kagari's blank face and shrugged. "Er, life energy, ya mighta seen it described as chi, or chakra in animes?" Kagari nodded, having understood it the first time, simply not understanding how a human boy could have developed anything like what Ranma was describing. Ranma went on. "Miya-nee's frankly a monster in comparison to anyone else I've ever seen."

Kagari nodded, understanding that was simply the honest truth, and setting aside how the youth was able to use ki himself for now. Then he frowned, wondering if Ranma was using that technique now somehow. If so in all likelihood he and Uzume would have shown up as beyond human norm as well. The boy didn't seem to be though, so maybe their secret was still safe. Then something Ranma said struck him. "Wait what do you mean you challenged Miya-san?"

Ranma laughed remembering. "I hopped over the outer wall, and asked ta fight the martial arts master who I thought lived here. When I realized it was Miya-nee, I challenged her directly, and when she tried to put me off didn't take no for an answer. It was fun!" He then rubbed his head "And painful."

"That I can believe a least." Kagari replied, still looking at him faintly confused. Though Kagari's emotions were nearer to shock and disbelief than confusion. _He challenged Miya-san like that, and_ _ **survived**_ _? Okay, he was young at the time, but still…_

"I just want to be clear on this," Uzume said from behind them, giving voice to Kagari's thoughts. "You challenged Miya, and actually try to hit her? And you're still alive?!" Uzume was also wondering how the hell the young man could get away with calling her 'Miya-nee' too, but that was a smaller thing.

Ranma turned, grateful to see that the girl had changed though blushing still at how good she could make a pair of jeans and a regular T-shirt lock. _What the hell are they feeding the people in Tokyo these days!_

"Er, yeah. It was touch and go for a few minutes there, but I offered to help fix up this place in return fer trainin' and she and Takehtio-san agreed to that Takehito was nice too, and understood how much money I was saving them. Is he still working for MBI by the way? What's he think about them actually buyin' the whole city and renamin' it? I think that's a crappy move myself."

The two tenants exchanged a glance. "That I think you'll need to talk to Miya about," Kagari said delicately.

Ranma frowned at his tone, but before he could ask about it, there was a clicking sound as the front door opened. Realizing who it must be Ranma grinned, leaping up from where he had been sitting at the table he had fixed all those years ago, hopping out into the hallway.

"Guess who's back Miya-nee!" Before Miya could register his presence, Ranma was already within arm's reach, lifting her up and twirling her around in a big hug.

"Ranma!" Miya said staring down at him, trying to frown but failing miserably, a small but very warm smile forcing itself onto her face. "Put me down!"

Ranma did so still grinning at her while behind him Uzume and Kagari both stared at him. The girl too was grinning. _He really call Miya nee-san! Oh that is too good!_

For her part Miya had begun to poke Ranma in the chest. "Three years! Three years without a word from you, and not only that but you left so abruptly! One day I hear that you're not going to come around because you are waiting for your poor friend to show up, then four days later I get a message from China! **From China!** Telling me that you're fine and not to worry but that Genma wanted to take you on a training trip to other countries. You could've called me at some point!"

"We're ya worried about me?" Ranma asked the grin.

Which ended abruptly as her ladle, which had not been in her hand, Ranma had make sure about that before picking her up, suddenly appeared and smacked him upside the head. "What do you think?" She asked coldly.

Rubbing at his head he glared at her a little, but subsided quickly. "I couldn't call ya, sending ya that postcard used up the last o' my cash, and my old man kept us movin' all the time after that, couldn't stop and earn more. And most of the time we were so far out in the boonies there weren't any phones in the first place ! And I couldn't come by to tell you I was going, 'cause I didn't know I was going. Oyaji decided we should leave, then when I refused he coldcocked me from behind while I was waitin' for Ryoga to show up for our match. It was all I could do to get away when we hit China ta send you that card."

"That does sound like him from what little interaction I had with him. I would've thought that my lesson to him would've stuck more than that though."

"In everything but martial arts my old man's a **very** slow learner, though ta be fair, ya scared him straight for a nearly a year, that's a hell of an accomplishment. Y'know what though, I think it's one of those balancing things, he can learn and teach martial arts to a high degree but everything else is you know, bottoms out." Ranma said gesturing with one hand way above his head and the other down to the floor.

"Or perhaps he's just an idiot." Miya said tartly. She sighed faintly, then put her arms around Ranma in a firm hug. "Still it's good to see you again Ranma." She smiled, stepping back from him. "I assume you've kept up your exercises?"

"What do you think?" he said smirking challengingly at her. "I also learned a heck of a lot on the trip too. Oyaji was feelin' the pinch before we left, and he pushed himself and me hard the entire time. Ya wanta see what I've learned?"

"No fear!" said Uzume from behind him, shaking her head. "You gotta have balls of steel bro, honestly."

"What have I told you about language like that Uzume-san?" Miya said cocking her head to one side as a hint of her hanya mask began to appear.

"Not to, not to sorry!" Uzume said backing away hurriedly. To one side however Ranma had whipped out a notebook, eagerly leaning forward.

Seeing this Miya glared, the technique dissipating. "What have I told you about prying into a woman secrets?"

"But that's not a secret!" Ranma protested. "It's a ki technique, and you learned it from Takehito-san anyway! I don't see why I shouldn't learned it, I'm a student of yours aren't I?""

"Only a part-time student," said Miya , shaking her head though she slowly began to frowned at the mention of Takehito.

That frown deepened when Ranma looked outside frowning as he noticed that the sun had begun to set. "I'd love to catch up, but I'm sort of under a time limit. I don't think I can find where my old man and I are staying once it's night out, so do you think your husband's going to be back by then? I'd love ta say hi ta him too."

Miya sighed. "Perhaps we should go sit down Ranma, I have something to tell you…"

 **End Chapter**

* * *

 **Quite a bit more raw than my other prologue chapters, but as I said, I think it gives you a good idea of the tone of the story, and where I might be taking it. Please tell me what you think, and again, have a happy New Years!**


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Ranma or Sekirei. The first would have been sexier and Ranma not almost entirely asexual as a guy, and Uzume would not have died in the second.

So this won second place in this month's story poll. It was really damn close to, a lot of the time this and _Horse_ were tied, and for a time _Semblance_ was close too. Keep the votes coming guys, I love to see what people want to read, it adds to the fun for me. The poll for next month will be updated by the time this story posts, and will be open until the 17th.

For those of you who donate on , I apologize, I am trying to get into the habit of using that site more often, but it's hard to remember. I will however try harder in the future now that summer has begun and I am only taking a single course from now on.

Thanks as beta go to **ultimaflare0** who got this back to me on the same day I sent it to him!

* * *

 **Chapter 2 Icy Hot**

Miya silently watched as Ranma knelt down in front of the small shrine she had created to honor Takehito in her room, the room she and her husband had shared for far too short a time. They were alone for the moment, her tenants knowing that this was a private moment between the two of them. That and one of Miya's rules was that none of her tenants could enter her room under any circumstance. Indeed since Takehito had died Ranma was the first person other than herself who had been in here.

Clapping his hands together Ranma mumbled a Buddhist prayer to the dead he had heard on occasion on their travels. He had never been as close to Takehito as he was to Miya, but Ranma had still seen him as something of a role model in many ways: the way the man carried himself, the way he was confident without being cocky or arrogant and the manners he and Miya had both tried to instill in Ranma. _With limited success I suppose but given where I started from I think I've made good progress._

After kneeling there in silence for a few moments Ranma clapped his hands again, and rose smoothly, turning to face the door where Miya had remained, her own head bowed in remembered grief. Takehito's death had happened more than two years ago, but she still felt his loss keenly every day.

"How did he die?" Ranma asked quietly.

"An accident at work. One of his assistants left out some volatile chemicals, and there was an explosion." Miya responded by rote. That was MBI's official line to the disaster which had claimed Takehito and more than a hundred other lives that horrible day. Miya of course suspected there was more to it than that, a lot more, but had no proof.

If she had, Minaka and his dogs would all have died at the end of her blade long since, a concept that was, despite the lack of proof of what had happened to Takehito, gaining some momentum in her mind since she had found out about the so-called Sekirei-plan. Yet Miya was constrained by the simple fact that despite Minaka's own mad scheme for them, her little feathers were protected by MBI from the rest of humanity in a way she and her sword could not.

Ranma frowned at her looking a little suspicious, but he didn't say anything instead following Miya out of the room back downstairs. "You'll stay for dinner won't you?" She asked.

"I told you I'm not certain I can find where my old man and I're staying tonight if I stay out past sundown." Ranma said. "I'd love to stay and hear how you actually got some tenants. I'd have thought no one'd want ta put up with your rules, or has that mask of yours gotten less scary over time?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Ranma," Miya replied raising one hand in front of her mouth delicately. "And of course as an old widow, I would need a source of income and this place was designed as an inn in the first place."

"Old?" Ranma laughed. "You're still as pretty as ya were when I left, heck you don't look like you've aged a day Miya-nee. Heh I bet that mask of yours has got a lot of use over the years ta keep the suitors at bay. Course, that's the soft option with you." He laughed, imagining anyone trying to hit on Miya without her consent. _Just because she uses a glorified spoon instead of a_ _sword_ _doesn't mean she can't still cut you in half._

Miya slapped his shoulder lightly, well lightly for the two of them, if Ranma had been a normal human that slap would've sent him sprawling. Even so she laughed, blushing slightly behind her hand. Ranma was blunt but his compliments were heartfelt, and it had been a long time since anyone had truly complemented her on anything but her cooking. Kagari did at times, but his compliments always felt forced or automatic to her.

"None of that Ranma, and your problem isn't so insoluble, we do use these things called the Yellow Pages. We can simply call this Tendo dojo of yours and then work out directions from here. Do you know what district your friends live in?"

"That's that common sense thing ain't it?" Ranma said shaking his head, his accent coming back for a moment. "Okay, so maybe I need more o' that. Though I don't like the idea of letting my father alone without a minder, and his friend didn't exactly impress me either. If I show up again and I find that they've already written up the marriage certificate and forced one of Soun's daughters to sign them I'm going to be **very** angry!"

Miya stopped suddenly, turning to him, cocking her head to one side the faint's start of darkness appearing behind her. "Marriage certificate? Whatever are you talking about?" _Don't tell me…_

"Yeah, it's one of my old man's hair-brained ideas! He's got this old training buddy. They apparently learned under the same grandmaster, though why that'd matter at all considering how many masters he had me training under I don't know. Heck he even trained with a few himself the past few years. Anyway their 'grand plan' is to unite the two schools he and his friend made from the original school of Anything Goes, but I don't see the point."

As Ranma and Miya entered the sitting room Uzume and Kagari looked up, smiling slightly in welcome as they watched Ranma follow Miya in. Both of them were **extremely** interested in the young man since watching him interact with Miya, who had always kept a certain distance between herself and everyone around her. The way Ranma treated her therefore was a cross between startling and hilarious with a smattering of fear for his wellbeing thrown in for good measure.

"Unite the schools, so you're some kind of martial artist or something? I guess that explains something, though how you got Miya to agree to train you it's something else entirely." Uzume said having heard that portion of their conversation. She leaned forward over the table, not incidentally flashing her cleavage at the younger man.

While Ranma blushed slightly and looked away, Miya let out a small amount of her aura, scaring Uzume into straightening up before answering, "I thought at the time it was almost my duty to train him in good manners if nothing else, and when we began training together it proved to be rather fun."

Miya had no wish to share with Ranma that she had initially thought he was the descendent of some Ashikabi/Sekirei pair, especially since she had decided that wasn't the case after a few months interaction with him. She should have felt some hint of a Sekirei core from him in that time if that was the case, but she hadn't.

She smiled at Ranma and gestured at him to sit down at the table before going over to a small table set by the doorway to the kitchen, throwing him the Yellow Pages. He caught the book deftly, and began to flip through it. "It was rather cute watching him try his best every time we practiced together however, and he sort of grew on me. Like a weed, or a vine." She teased, causing Ranma to stick his tongue out at her.

"Heh I didn't know you went for them so youn…I'm going to shut up now…" Uzume started and then stopped as Miya turned to her, eyes narrowing and her smile becoming fixed.

Ignoring the two of them with the ease of long practice Kagari frowned thoughtfully, wondering if a normal human could become good enough to worry about if Miya was the one training him. _No,_ he decided after a moment, _he didn't train with her for very long after all, and I can't imagine that Miya would push a young boy hard enough to overcome a Sekirei's natural advantages in speed and strength._

The implications of Uzume's attempt at a joke went right over Ranma's head, and he continued to flit through the yellow pages while continuing to expand the original topic of conversation. "Anyway, Oyaji sprang this marriage contract thing on me a few days ago as we were arriving at the Tendo dojo. He's always doing stupid crap like that, deciding my future for me and all that shit."

"Language Ranma, but I have to agree with the sentiment, marriage contracts are so old fashioned, and rather foolish at the best of times. Which this certainly is not, seeing as you and the prospective bride have never even met before." Miya said, shaking her head as she entered the kitchen raising her voice slightly. "Do you wish me to come by to **chat** with him, or were you able to talk your way out of it?"

"I was able to postpone the wedding at least." Ranma said with a shrug. "The Tendo family has three girls and the three of them and me convinced Oyaji and Soun, that's his old training partner's name, to wait two years so as to let us get ta know one another."

Ranma shook his head. "We'll see how well that goes, my old man's not one to give up on a scheme, but I also pointed out another problem with the whole joining the schools thing because the Tendo School might not even exist in the first place. Soun doesn't look to be a good enough martial artist to teach anything, and the only student who uses the dojo is the youngest daughter. She's got okay strength for a beginner I suppose, but no style, no footwork, and **no** speed." He shrugged. "Though I suppose I'm a pretty tough judge of that kinda thing."

Finishing with the Yellow Pages Ranma moved over to the phone situated on the small table by the doorway to the kitchen, and called the dojo. After a few rings Kasumi picked up, answering in that pleasant voice of hers. "Tendo residence, this is Kasumi, may I help you?"

"Hey Kasumi, I'm over at my friend's place, and she wants me to stay for dinner, I'll still pick up the rice on my way back though, don't worry. Figured I'd call and tell you not to bother with dinner for me, and to ask for your address so I know how to find the dojo later."

"Thank you for telling me Ranma, though I had hoped to talk to you further over dinner. However, I can understand wanting to reconnect with old friends." Kasumi went on giving him the dojo's address while in the background Ranma could hear two male voices singing or perhaps shouting something he wasn't certain. What was certain was they both sounded drunk as hell.

Ranma wrote it down then moved over into the kitchen to talk to Miya about directions. After a moment Miya realized Ranma had no idea about street names, train stops or anything else, being too used to going over the rooftops to bother with anything like that. Sighing she took the phone speaking to Kasumi directly her eyes narrowing when she heard the same thing that Ranma had in the background.

Swiftly thereafter Miya hung up the phone, shaking her head. "Your father doesn't seem to have changed much from what you told me about him." She said dryly, before smiling slyly as she looked at Ranma. "Kasumi sounded quite nice, a very well-spoken young lady. I suppose you could do worse," she teased.

Ranma flushed a little, shaking his head. "Yeah, she's er, nice I suppose. But I just met her this afternoon, but my old man acted like I was just supposed ta meet her or her sisters and go, bam wow, let's get hitched! Gah, seriously I don't know what my old man was thinking, assumin' I'd be fine with just marryin' someone I just met. That'd be just so damn stupid, meeting someone then suddenly deciding to spend the rest of your life with 'em."

Miya laughed quietly while Uzume and Kagari both looked at one another, scowling. After all, that was what finding Ashikabi was about, that instant connection with another person the destined one who made your soul sing.

Yet they had to admit from a human perspective it did sound stupid. _I'm beginning to realize why Chiho-baby thoughts it was a silly game when I explained it..._ Uzume thought. For his part Kagari simply scowled, not liking Ranma making light of something he was coming to believe he would never feel, no matter that Ranma had no way of knowing that.

"Well at least you were able to postpone things. I hope that with two years to work with you and the young ladies involved will be able to figure a way out. But on a similar vein Ranma I did have something I wished to tell you the next time I saw you. Do you remember a young girl named Ukyo?"

Ranma paused as he was about to sit down crouching there as he cocked his head. "Umm… Miya-nee the only Ukyo I remember was a guy. His old man owned this small okonomiyaki cart. We fought, I mean trained every day together, every day, and if I won I got free food." Ranma remained there, then his eyes widened. "Wait Ukyo's a girl!?"

"I remember her," Uzume cut in grinning over at Kagari who had stiffened the moment Miya had mentioned Ukyo. "Huh, so you're the Ran-chan she was after huh. She was quite the tomboy from what I remember but certainly had curves enough didn't she Kagari?"

"I, I have no idea what you're talking about Uzume!" Kagari stuttered, looking away.

"That is what you get for always treating every young lady you meet like one of your clients." Miya said from the kitchen, not looking up from putting the finishing touches on dinner.

Ranma turned to stare at him, one eyebrow raised and Kagari coughed uncomfortably. "Er yes well. Ukyo took my, um my automatic response to girls developed at my job as my being honestly interested in her. She then began to, um, flirt with me, in her own way it must be said, whenever she stopped by. Nothing I'm not used to, though the manner of her flirtations was rather… unique, and her persistence was admirable."

"'Admirable' he says, hah! She followed this lug to work and scared off, what did she call your regular clients, old hags or ancient hussies?" Uzume laughed. "Went on for nearly a month before she realized Kagari wasn't actually interested in her. Heh, I still don't know what was funnier, that, her reaction to my own preferences, or her first attempt to try and take over the kitchen."

"I… honestly don't know what to say to all that." Ranma said, shaking his head before smirking. "Although I'd have paid good money to see anyone tryin' to kick Miya-nee out of her own kitchen. Your cooking's fantastic Miya-nee, but you are kind of possessive about your kitchen, remember that one time I tried to make my own dinner here?"

"You were trying to make a takoyaki ball the size of your own head Ranma, that isn't a real dinner, and you only had to wait until I got home from shopping anyway. I was perfectly justified booting you in your rear." Miya replied primly. "As for Ukyo, while she knew her way around the kitchen she was a little too blinded by her infatuation with Kagari to realize how rude she was being. But that isn't important right now. You said you thought Ukyo was a boy?"

"Oh yeah, I mean, we were six, and he, er, I mean she, gah that's weird." Ranma shook his head, still trying to come to grips with the idea that his old childhood friend, one of very few he had made in his travels, was a girl. "We were six at the time, and she dressed just like her old man in miniature, how was I supposed ta tell? But why'd she come here?"

He paused for a moment, trying to bring to mind the last few memories of Ukyo he had. "Wait a minute, why was Oyaji pushin' their cart like that anyway?"

"She came here because apparently her father and you entered into a marriage agreement like the one you just described with the Tendos. Your father was supposed to take Ukyo with you on your training trip, only Genma, and you apparently, decided to run off with her dowry and leave her behind. She was able to find your middle school, and the principal there pointed her in my direction."

"B, but, why!? I mean, why'd her father want to do something like that, and why'd my old man do that?" Ranma's eyes widened, and he groaned. "Oh man, you don't think she was here for revenge or something? But, wait, if my old man was willing to make one agreement like that… could, could he have made more!?"

"I don't know about that, but it is a possibility." Miya replied as she left the kitchen, gesturing at Uzume to help her bring in the meal, grilled fish with a daikon radish side in Sekirei sized portions. Uzume blinked at the portion size for Ranma, wondering if Miya had forgotten that Ranma was human, but Ranma didn't seem to think it interesting enough to comment on.

As she handed out food Miya continued speaking. "In the case of Ukyo however I was able to convince her to put all the blame on your father rather than you, you were after all a young boy and could not be held accountable for your father's actions. She still wants to meet you, and was adamant the agreement was still valid, but she's no longer looking to kill you for abandoning her Ranma. Genma is another matter entirely."

"Ukyo left Tokyo about six months or so ago, but she did leave her cell phone number. We could get in touch with her if you wanted." Kagari said helpfully, as he got up to grab a fourth pair of chopsticks for their guest without being asked.

Ranma rubbed his face irritably, scowling slightly. "I think it'd be best to wait on that for now. I want ta make certain she's the only other person my old man did this to before meeting her. If it's just her, I suppose I could convince her to stick around for the same time I've talked my old man and Soun into giving me and the Tendo girls. If not… I don't know, maybe repay the dowry?"

"Quite a sensible way of going about things, although Ukyo no doubt will want to pound on Genma regardless." Miya said as she sat down, smiling over at Ranma.

"You could just marry them all bro." Uzume said grinning. "All boys want harems right?"

"Not this boy." Ranma replied, shaking his head. "I hardly know anything about girls in the first place, let alone romance and all that. What would I do with more'n one girl?" He smirked suddenly, looking over at Uzume. "But why did harems spring ta mind Uzume? You got a group of boy toys hidden 'round the place or something?"

"Enough about all that." Miya said, cutting in quickly. "Tell us about your training trip Ranma. I know you were in China when you sent me that postcard, but where specifically did you go?"

At that question both Kagari and Uzume turned to Ranma eagerly, neither of them having ever been out of Tokyo save when they were transported to Tokyo from Kamakura island. Uzume in particular had often dreamed about traveling.

Nodding Ranma began to talk about his trip. Unfortunately for Uzume he hadn't been to many tourist destinations, though his description of some of the things he had seen out in the forests and jungles of Asia matched or exceeded similar, more accessible, tourist traps. And a time or two he caused all three of his listeners to laugh at his description of some of the things he and Genma had done in the name of training.

"You're pulling my leg," Uzume laughed as Ranma wound down, having mentioned nearly every place he had been but making no mention of his curse. He honestly was uncertain how Miya would react to the idea of magic, and was worried she would react poorly to it. "There is no way that Amazon elder looked like that!"

"I kid you not." Ranma laughed. "She was short, wrinkly, hell she looked almost like those old images of witches from Russia, Baba Yogie or something? Bounced around on her staff like it was a pogo stick. I'm just glad I was able to get out of there without any complications. When we passed through a town nearby afterwards, the people there told me that the Amazons had this weird tradition of how they went about bringing in new blood. If an outsider male defeats an Amazon, she gives this kiss of marriage."

He shuddered. "And of course is that means you're married in their eyes. Stupid crap, like one kiss could be enough to make you married in any sensible person's eyes. I might not know much, but I know marriage is about more than kissing or being stronger than the other person."

Again Kagari scowled, not liking how Ranma was making fun of something that was at the center of their society even if he didn't know it. But Uzume simply laughed, shaking her head. "Oh yes, a real tragedy there, getting to lock lips with sexy martial artist type babes, what horror. Still damn, just imagine if you had, then this Shampoo girl, Ukyo and one of the Tendo's could've had a three-way death match to decide who'd become your wife."

She paused then, smirking a little. "Or maybe just a three-way, the one with the most endurance wins!"

Miya was about to summon up her hanya mask to punish Uzume's lewd comment as it deserved, but paused as she noticed the comment going right over Ranma's head. Instead, he had turned to her, cocking his head to one side quizzically. "Speaking of matches, is there some kind of tournament or convention going on?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Miya said, though her tone belied her suddenly tense body. "Why?"

"As I was roof-hopping I ran into a few female martial artists. They didn't seem as honorable as I'd expect from someone who's actually trained with you, but they sort of had the same feel if that makes any sense?"

"What do you mean they weren't as honorable as you would expect?" Miya asked. She knew that the Sekirei fights were supposedly one-on-one combat, or at best teams of equal opponents fighting it out, and the idea of Ranma running into a group that didn't keep to that ideal bothered her. _Not that I should be surprised even at this early a date that someone is willing to break the rules._

Ranma shrugged. "There was a group of four women fighting a single opponent. She was a tall blonde woman with blue eyes dressed in a black skirt and white blouse, had a sort of haughty attitude."

Recognizing the woman who had begun to style herself as his rival Kagari frowned. _I can't be on guard all the time, but that Tsukiumi was ambushed by a group that large when I was here sleeping off my job bothers me. I thought Higa and the others would be wary about moving during the day given the fact the police haven't been replaced by Minaka's tools yet, but that might not be the case. Damn, I'll need to cut back my hours and step up my daytime patrols._

As the other man was thinking this, Ranma went on. "She had the coolest ki techniques I've ever seen too! She could create water out of thin air and use it to attack! That was damn awesome! Anyway, I figured that five on one wasn't very fair, so I joined in on her side of things."

Uzume's eyes narrowed, though she tried to remain cool, as she asked, "Wait, so you're telling us you found a martial arts match here in the city, today? You sure you didn't wander unto a movie set or something? You really expect us to believe there was a woman who could create water out of thin air? That sounds like special effects to me."

She shifted uncomfortably as Ranma looked at her, a deadpan expression on his face, then over to Kagari and Miya who shook her head sadly. "Uhuhhhh, so that's how you're going to play it huh? I did mention my finding Miya-nee via a ki technique right, a technique that told me how large her ki reserves are didn't I?"

Inwardly both Uzume and Kagari cursed. Uzume had actually forgotten that, while Kagari had hoped the youth hadn't used it since arriving at the inn. Their secrets out, Uzume scowled. "Alright you got me. So tell us, what did the foursome who was attacking the blonde so dishonorably look like."

Ranma flashed Uzume a peace sign, enjoying her irritation but answered her question easily. "One was a younger looking girl, about as young as me maybe, with short blonde hair with a black leather top bloomers and stockings who used these stupid long whip things, hah! " He shook his head. "I sent her flying with her own weapon because they were all connected to this grip she had in her hands, and she couldn't drop them before I threw her."

"Another had long black hair done up with a ribbon and wore, well something I've seen in anime being worn by kunoichi, with white gloves. She was a better fighter than the first gal, but nothing special. The third wore what looked like a priestess outfit, and had black hair in two ponytails. She used kukri knives of all things."

Miya made an interrogative sound and Ranma explained. "Short triangle-shaped knives, with heavy crossbars as a hilt. Weird weapon from India meant to punch through armor and also be good for slashing attacks. She wasn't very good with 'em though, and she let out these little cutesy 'eek' noises whenever she was attacked. The blonde, Tsukky something, dealt with her and the kunoichi wannabe by sending the flying with a water battering ram."

"The last one had wild green hair with a long staff, and wore a blue and white tight top, long gloves and white boots. She used a staff and seemed to be their leader. For all that though, she was just as weak as the others. I shattered her staff with a kick and forced her to retreat easily enough."

That proclamation caused Uzume to spit out her drink across the table into Ranma's face before gasping and choking having recognized that description as one of Higa's chief enforcers. She hadn't met the woman often, but she knew that she was one that Higa used for dirty deeds, and was supposedly one of his most dangerous too.

The idea that his human could so easily dispatch her was beyond astonishing. "You can't be serious?" she shouted, as she wiped away at her mouth, not noticing that both of her table companions had gasped and were staring at Ranma now. "I," she finally looked up and her eyes widened. "W-what the heck?"

In Ranma's place was a short buxom redhead. She was at least a foot shorter than Ranma, and while her breasts weren't up to most Sekirei's standards, they were certainly decent sized for young human woman. Her hair was in the same pigtail Ranma wore and her eyes were the same color, but her face was softer, very distinctly that of a young woman rather than a young man.

"R-Ranma?" Miya asked, her brows furrowed in astonishment. "What, what just happened?"

Beside her Kagari was simply staring, astonished. _Maybe some kind of experiment from MBI? I thought I was the only one that went through that kind of thing! But the application of water, how could that trigger such a change in body mass?_

Uzume shook her head, reaching out and grabbing Ranma's breasts. "These can't be real! It's some kind of…" she trailed off as she hefted them in her hands. "Good grief, these are…"

She broke off suddenly as Ranma bellowed, "Okay that's it! I've had enough with people randomly feeling me up. First my old man back in Jusenkyou, then a dozen random people throughout China, then Nabiki, now you!" So saying he reached forward with both hands, grabbing Uzume's breasts. "How do you like it huh!?"

"I like it quite a lot." Uzume said honestly, staring down at the younger girls' hands where her fingers were actually nearly disappearing into her large bust. "You could use a little bit more strength though." As if in unconscious reply her own hands began to knead Ranma's chest, causing Ranma to squeak. "Seriously though, what the hell happenecakk!"

Both of them grabbed their heads, looking at Miya who had stood up quickly and smacked them both with her ladle. "That will be enough lewd activity from the both of you. Sit down." With that accomplished, she turned to Ranma again. "Ranma… what… exactly… is this?"

"I, I wanted to tell you!" Ranma stammered, poking her fingers together. "I just, I just couldn't figure out a way ta bring it up!"

Seeing how nervous Ranma was Miya reached out a gentle hand, touching the redhead's shoulder. "Calm down Ranma, and just tell us, **me** , alright? Whatever this is, I'll listen calmly, alright?"

As Miya didn't immediately seem to judge him/her as so many had like Akane, or freak out like many more had, like Kasumi and Nabiki, Ranma nodded, and went on calmly. "Um, I mentioned the Amazons right? Well we were in the Bayakala mountain range because my old man had heard of this training area called Jusenkyou. That translates to the 'Cursed Springs'. Turns out it wasn't just named that because there were a lot of springs, but because they really are cursed… as in magically."

Kagari scoffed. "Magic!? You expect us to believe that magic really exists?"

Ranma looked at him blankly. "So my transforming would be what, a mass hallucination? Miya-nee putting some high grade drugs in her tea?" Kagari scowled while Miya and Uzume both chuckled.

The younger man went on in the same deadpan tone. "My old man fell into a spring. He came out transformed into a panda and then attacked me, knocking me into another spring. After he and I talked to the guide, he changed us back with hot water. After that, let's just say I became a believer okay?"

"My old man ran off in shock I talked to the manager of the Springs, and he says there are hundreds of other springs each of the with the corresponding animal that drowned there. They range from sizes almost too big to believe they could drown in them in the first place to as small as a kitten or pig. I was actually pretty lucky to fall into one that let me stay human shaped. Even if it comes with these damn things." Ranma muttered, cupping her breasts. "What the hell am I supposed to do with these things anywOOW!"

"Young ladies do not feel themselves up like that in public Ranma." Miya said, putting her ladle back down and staring at the redhead in quiet astonishment. She had been around for quite a while, far longer than any of her younger feathers and seen many things. But she had never seen anything like this, never even imagined it. _Could it really be magic?_

"I don't believe you." Kagari said shaking his head. "There's just no way that 'cursed springs' could really exist!"

"How's that phrase go?" Ranma murmured as she reached over to grab the teapot, pouring it over her head. As 'she' became 'he' Ranma smirked. "'There are more things in the world then your philosophy has room for'? Something like that anyway."

Kagari was actually quite well-read, and recognized the phrase Ranma was trying to quote and failing miserably. However his astonishment at the change stole his breath away.

Smirking suddenly Uzume looked between Kagari and Ranma. "So is that why you don't want to marry anyone or care much about romance? Are you secretly glad you fell into that spring?"

Ranma glared at her. "I'm a guy whatever my body looks like, and I'm into girls, damnit!" He paused, pulling at his pigtail sheepishly. "I just don't know what ta to with them."

"Pity." Uzume murmured, looking at Kagari, who came out of his momentary stupor to frown at her. He hadn't felt any attraction to Ranma as Uzume seemed to be hinting, something he was actually quite thankful for. Frankly the whole magic thing was beginning to freak him out. "If, if magic really exists… how many of those old legends or fairy tales are real?"

"Probably a lot more than you might want to believe." Ranma replied with a shrugged. "I know that my old man and I have run into more than a few legends that turned out to have some fact behind them in the course of our training trip."

Miya shook her head slightly. "I really do think I'm going to have to insist on speaking with your father at some point. In fact, let us kill two birds with one stone. I will call Ukyo and get her here next weekend. You bring Genma along, and she can subtract her pound of flesh before he and I begin to talk most seriously about what he has done to you."

Seeing Ranma's conflicted look she sighed, reaching across to touch her younger brother's hand gently. And that was the way she thought of Ranma, a rambunctious younger brother who she wanted to protect somewhat, though she knew that Ranma could look after himself. _Taking on that many of my feathers and beating them so easily says that he has indeed kept up his training. Excellent, I'm actually looking forward to seeing how good he has become._

"I am not saying your curse changes how I view you Ranma." She said aloud. "Only that you should never have gone to this Jusenkyou place in the first place, and that it is your father's fault that you did, and then his fault you were cursed in the first place! I presume that you looked into some kind of cure for it?"

Ranma nodded relieved at Miya's reaction. "There were a few items that were supposed to cure it, but the only surefire method seems to deal with some kind of ancient treasure and finding the spring of drowned man to offset the current curse. If I don't use the ancient treasure I'll just mix the two curses."

Kagari blanched at that, while Uzume actually looked somewhat thoughtful. Without even looking Miya reached out, smacking her upside the head with the ladle in her free hand.

"Still, very interesting," Miya mused as she leaned back again after patting Ranma's hand one more time. "We will have to go shopping together. After all, I don't think you have anything appropriate to wear as a woman, do you?"

"No but why'd I need them, I mean can't I just wear my normal clothing, and try to avoid cold water?"

"You could, but that would be avoiding the issue, not dealing with your new problem Ranma. And there are certain items of apparel that a young lady needs. Most particularly bras, unless you want to give boys a free show?"

Ranma paused thinking about it, then shuddered a little at the idea of guys looking at him like, though he didn't want to admit it, he had looked at Uzume at first or the blonde from earlier that day. "Okay, you got a point I suppose, I guess I'll have to come up with some kind of technique to change clothing quickly or something."

"That's the spirit." Miya said with a smile.

"I'll go too!" Uzume said with a grin. "No offense Miya, but your tastes are a little old-fashioned. Don't worry bro, you'll be the sexiest girl on the planet by the time I'm done with you!"

"No chance in hell!" Ranma said pointing dramatically at Uzume despite fighting back a small smile on his face. "I don't trust you."

"That hurts," Uzume pouted, holding one hand up to her prodigious chest, deliberately making her breasts bounce for a moment. "Right here."

"That's not where your heart is." Ranma said deadpan.

"Nope!" Uzume said with a laugh.

Ranma laughed too shaking his head. Uzume was a lot of fun, her sense of humor was a little more 'body related' then he was really comfortable with, but she was a barrel of laughs anyway. "Thanks for the offer, but I think we'll be fine."

"And with that, I think it's time for you to head to the Tendo's Ranma," said Miya, stretching slightly. She looked at the clock and frowned, realizing it was nearly 10 o'clock at night already. Ranma's description of his training journey had eaten away more than four hours.

"Make sure ya come back tomorrow quick as you can bro." Uzume said with a grin. "I want to see you and Miya actually spar together. I still think you're both trying to pull a joke on us with that whole tale."

Kagari said nothing, still trying to come to grips with the idea that magic really existed.

"I'd like that." Ranma said without faint smile on his face as he turned to Miya who nodded amicably. He stood up, followed by Miya who walked with him toward the front door.

"It was good seeing you again Ranma, and I look forward to having you in the area once again. I am certainly up for checking to make certain you haven't that backslid in the years since I've seen you last, but after that, there are a few little projects I'd like you to look on around the house." Miya said, smiling at Ranma while he pulled on his shoes in the vestibule.

"That's fine Miya-nee." Ranma said with a grin, pulling her into a hug. "Even if you weren't willing to train me anymore I'd still be willing to patch up this old place for you. It's nice here, there's… I guess a sense of peace or something about it. I really missed it when I was gone you know I don't know what that feeling is."

Miya smiled into his shoulder, noting for the first time that Ranma had broadened rather noticeably in the shoulders, and his arms certainly showed the musculature of a swordsman on top of that of a normal martial artist. _It will be interesting to see what his form is like tomorrow._

But that portion of her mind shut down after Ranma spoke, and she smiled slightly, kissing him on the cheek. "That feeling is that of a home Ranma, and I am happy to hear you feel that way about my little inn. Take care and I'll see you tomorrow."

Ranma nodded, squeezed her one last time around the waist, and turning opening the front door, leaving Miya to stare at the door thoughtfully for a moment before turning back to enter the sitting room. Turning she made her way back to the sitting room. Kagari was still out of it, staring directly ahead, his organized mind unable to deal with the revelation that magic might be real.

Uzume however cocked her head thoughtfully as she looked up at Miya. For once she was serious as she spoke. "Miya, exactly how much does Ranma know about us? I mean, I know you well enough to know you wouldn't have told him anything, but this 'ki' technique that lets him see other peoples, what does that really tell him about us?"

"Ranma is rather more perceptive than he lets on, something I think he learned from his father. So I would suggest trying not to keep secrets from him at least when it involves your various abilities. But don't tell him, Ukyo, or Genma anything about the Sekirei Game, not yet. I want to get a feel for how Ranma might react to that, understand?"

She let a bit of her terror aura out, and both of them nodded quickly, the terror of the technique succeeding in knocking Kagari back to normal. Both of them looked at Miya's expression and understood she was very serious about this. With her message given Miya turned, heading into the kitchen humming happily as she went about cleaning up after dinner.

 **OOOOOOO**

Ranma crossed the city somewhat slower than normal having to stop and search around for street names, trying to find the landmarks Kasumi had mentioned that would lead him to Nerima. He also had to stop to check the written directions several times, perched on lampposts and leaning over slightly to let the light catch them.

It was at one such stop after Ranma had entered the central city, the area with the most cameras and largest buildings, that he saw something which made his blood run cold. A young woman was entering a park area about half a block ahead of him. Nothing unusual, until you looked closer at her and the trail she left behind.

She moved like a zombie, a shambling, almost uncoordinated gait. She was wearing no shoes, and a doctors coat which barely covered her upper body. If she was wearing something underneath that robe Ranma couldn't see it from here.

But it was what was dripping from that coat which had caught Ranma's attention. Blood, red blood dripped from the end of that coat, and had left a trail on the street. A street, Ranma now realized as he looked around, which was strangely almost suspiciously empty of normal civilian traffic. _Yeah, something's going on here. And I think that woman either needs help, or… well, let's see what we can find out._

Ranma leaped from where he had been crouching on the top of a lamppost into the trees of the park, making his way quickly through the park to intercept the woman. Soon enough he broke out onto the park's path, and he saw the woman sitting down on a park bench by a fountain. A nearby lamppost was the only light in the park, but it was enough to tell Ranma a lot about the situation.

One, there was no one else around here in the park either. Two the woman was almost certainly worse off than he had feared. Not only was the woman's face blank, like someone who had given up all hope, but there was an odd mark on her forehead. It was a complicated image centered on a bird shape overlapping a yin-yang symbol with several small moon shapes circling it. It looked like a brand or tattoo or something, and the sight of it told Ranma something really weird was going on here.

Moving forward Ranma stopped in front of her staring down at her, forcing a small but warm smile on his face despite his danger senses (or in this case weird ass shit going on senses) tingling. "Hey miss, it's kind of late to be out by yourself y'know, um…" Ranma trailed off, only now realizing that the woman wasn't wearing anything under the doctor's coat.

The woman looked around the same age as Uzume, twenty or so. She had unkempt short tan colored hair, and porcelain colored skin, her uncovered legs visibly glowing slightly from the light of the lamppost. Her chest, slightly smaller than the blonde woman from that afternoon, rose and fell evenly, the coat nearly falling open enough to let Ranma see the treasures within.

Her eyes, which were gray, at first had a thousand yard stare of someone who had just taken a major emotional blow. Then as Ranma watched those eyes concentrated on him, and he allowed his smile to widen. "Can I ask your name, miss? And if you have anywhere you want to go? My name's Ranma."

The Failed Sekirei, Akitsu, looked up at the young man standing before her. In the dim light provided by a nearby lamppost his blue eyes shone somehow, and Akitsu thought at first they glowed with an inner light, before they dimmed slightly. The face those blue eyes were set into was handsome, with black hair done up in a pigtail, and his lips formed into a kind smile.

The kindness confused her, why would anyone look at her with such kindness? But despite her confusion as to the why of it, she recognized it, and that kindness was like a drink of water to a woman dying of thirst.

Licking her lips slightly she spoke in a halting voice, her voice scratchy. "Ahh… I, I have nowhere to go. All I want, all I wish for is my Ashikabi." She shook her head slowly, sorrowfully. "But I am alone now, my wings broken. Nothing more than a broken experiment."

Akitsu heard a grinding noise and looked up to see the young man's hands had formed into fists, so tight she could hear the bones grinding together. "Well, I don't know what an Ashikabi is, but ya say ya don't have anywhere to go huh? How about you come with me then? Maybe we'll be able to fix that thing on your forehead."

Looking at the woman with his ki sight Ranma had been able to see there was something really wrong with Akitsu. The technique was a sort of upgrade from the technique he'd learned from Ryoga's father all those years ago, though it took a lot out of him, and he was nowhere near an expert at understanding what he was seeing. But there was a lot of the woman's ki, of which she had a massive amount, tied up or blocked somehow from the rest of it by that mark on her forehead.

It was weird and almost perverse to him, and what she was saying was in a way even worse. She sounded almost like a druggy or someone who had been indoctrinated. _And the fact she is naked under that doctor's coat, and calls herself a failed experiment… I was worried I might be dealing with a madwoman before. Now it's almost certain I am, but I don't care about her victim any longer, in fact I'd probably gut the bastard myself._

That brought to Ranma's mind again that Akitsu was the next best thing to naked. He looked away, and in the light of the lamppost Akitzu could almost make out a flush on his face. She watched as he quickly pulled up his shirt over his head before handing it to her. "Err, why don't ya put that on and we can get going okay? You can stay with me for now."

Akitsu was astonished again at this bit of kindness, but grabbed at it eagerly. She set aside the overcoat that she had stolen during her escape from the lab and pulled the T-shirt over her head before putting the overcoat back on. Now dressed somewhat better, she reached out to touch his hand.

When he looked at her with those deep blue eyes and that welcoming smile however, her words faltered for a moment before she could get them out of her mouth. "Ahh… will you be my Ashikabi?"

With his faint smile still on his face despite his rising anger Ranma gripped her hand in his, pulling Akitsu to her feet and into a friendly hug, like the one he had given Miya when he left Izumo House. "I don't know what that is, but if ya need an Ashikabi to feel better or stop feeling like you're broken, then yeah, I'll be your Ashikabi. Whatever ya need Akitsu to feel better."

Akitsu's face morphed into a small, but incredibly joyous smile, and her arms went around Ranma's waist, clenching him in a grip that would have broken a normal man's bones. Ranma didn't even grunt, simply hugging her back gently, trying desperately to ignore the feel of her barely covered breasts against his bare chest.

Breaking the hug he was about to take Akitsu's hand and lead her off then paused, staring out into the park. "Okay, unless yer bloody perverts I assume you lot got some reason to be spying on us?"

Hearing the change in Ranma's tone, Akitsu turned as well, and though her body language remained almost blank, her arms fell to her sides, her fingers slightly curling. Something in those hands and that stance told Ranma she was ready for battle, and he spared her a nod of approval before turning back to the forest.

"None of that nii-san, we've got no business with you unless you make us. We just want to talk to the girl. She's a pretty rare card in this game, and I mean to have her in my deck." Out from the shadows, a boy stepped forward. He looked somewhat European. He was dressed in what Ranma thought was a period costume at first, and had a somewhat effeminate face and body from what could be seen from the lamplight _._

Next to him stood a tall man and upon sighting him, Ranma's hand's clenched, recognizing another martial artist. He was tall, taller than Ranma, and thinner in the shoulders, but held a katana in a simple sheath in one hand. His eyes were closed, but his body tense, and as he moved into the light his eyes opened, locking on Ranma.

On the youth's other side stood two girls, twins by the look of them, both of them waring long blonde hair done into twin pigtails and was dressed in yellow and black exercise togs from neck to toe. One held a whip at her side, the other stood in a loose martial arts stance designed to emphasize her mobility but was unarmed. Next to the man, neither of them even registered as a threat.

Yet even so looking at them all Ranma smirked glad to have an outlet for his anger. This group might not have been involved with whatever had been done to Akitsu, but they were willing to take advantage of it, and that was enough for him. _Now, how to deal with this Saotome style? Oh, yeah, make them mad, make them stupid._

When he spoke Ranma let his speech go back to the style his old man had trained into him for so long, just another way to get under his opponent's skin or make them underestimate him. "I don't know what you want kiddo, but ain't it past yer bedtime? Yer minder there should take ya home. Maybe tuck ya in with a good story or somethin'."

"My bedtime is 11:30 thank you very much, and Mutsu certainly isn't my minder he's my Sekirei!" the boy bellowed, then coughed as the man next to him looked down at him. "Ahem, anyway, last warning mister. Walk away, or you're going to get hurt."

"What, ya gonna throw yer nappies at me, or sick the Mad Exercisers on me? The seventies called gals, they want their cloths back, and I hate ta tell ya, but yer a little **old** ta pull off the twintail look."

The whip wielder shrieked like a kettle as the other girl shouted something, the first's shriek drowning it out but Ranma went on unhurriedly. "Or, ooh, your minder, wouldn't want that pretty boy face of his to get roughed up would ya?" However as the quartet all showed signs of anger he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Akitsu, you feel like a fighter do you think you can handle those two girls?"

Akitsu had been listening to all that was said silently, and was wondering why Ranma, her Ashikabi even if she couldn't go through the winging, was bothering speaking at all. Now she simply nodded, wondering why he hadn't asked her to defend them from the male Sekirei, who looked to her to be the most formidable of the trio.

"Enough of this!" The boy shouted, nearly red with anger. "No one mocks Mikogami Hayato rules or no! Mutsu get them!"

Mutsu sighed and moved one step forward before bringing up his still sheathed sword to block a kick from the young man standing next to the Ice Sekirei, who had crossed the distance between them between one second and the next. He smirked slightly as he heard the youth make a tsk noise and shook his head. "Sorry, but that kind of verbal sparring won't work on me."

"Meh, had to give it a try. Name's Ranma, you?" Ranma grinned even as he pushed off his opponent's sheathed blade, jumping backwards before moving forward quickly exchanging punches and kicks with the man, who still kept his blade sheathed.

"I'm Sekirei number five, Mutsu. I'd say pleased to meet you, but I'd be lying." Mutsu grimaced as one punch got in, damn this human was strong. Almost as strong as a Sekirei fist type, and fast too.

Pressing forward Mutsu tried to use his speed and strength to wear down the human, but was surprised when Ranma used the momentum of one of his blows to flip into the air. Thinking the youth had made a mistake, he brought his sheathed blade up and about in a slash that should have caught the youth in the center and blown him backwards, possibly breaking bones, certainly putting him out of the fight.

Instead Ranma moved in midair somehow dodging the blow only to tap a hand down on the sword once the blow was past him. Before Mutsu could set himself a kick lashed out catching him in the face and throwing his head back. Using the momentum of the blow he jumped several feet backwards to get some space, staring at Ranma as his free hand rose to his face rubbing his jaw.

To one side the two girls had rushed forward intent on subduing the ice Sekirei, but neither of them had realized how incensed Akitsu was at their attempt to separate her from the young man who she saw as her Ashikabi, irrespective of her broken wings. The unarmed one was flung violently backward by a piece of ice that had materialized out of the air racing forward to impact her chest like a rock thrown from a trebuchet.

As she fell down her sister brought her whip forward but Akitsu calmly raise a hand, and a wall of ice blocked the whip from touching her. The girl tried to pull it back only to realize the ice had flown up the whip, freezing it in place. She quickly let go of her weapon and dodged forward, trying to close.

At the same time two more Sekirei came out form the woods, moving in quickly with sword and spear. Akitsu dodged backwards, and in the next few moments it was all she could do to not become encircled. Her powers kept them all at bay, so long as she could keep them in sight, but if they could attack her from all sides, Akitsu knew she would lose in short order.

"Wow, that's fantastic I want you for my collection even more now! Get her everyone, and Mutsu finish that guy off… quickly…" Hayato's voice trailed off as he turned his head to stare at the battle between Ranma and Mutsu.

Both of them were moving so fast Hayato could barely track their bodies let alone their limbs, and every time their blows smacked into one another there was a loud boom of noise. Mutsu was bleeding from his nose, had a black eye, and he seemed to be limping slightly. Ranma had been tagged twice in the chest, his bare stomach now showing a series of bruises, and one of his shoulders was nearly black with another bruise.

Yet his wounds were already fading, Ranma's enhanced healing ability beyond anything even most Fist type Sekirei thanks to his father's continued pressure. And his aerial style was giving Mutsu fits. If Ranma stayed still for even a moment, Mutsu might have been able to finish him in a single blow, but Ranma was too good at dodging, and too skilled in the air, which negated most of Mutsu's earth-based sword techniques.

Mutsu got another surprise a second after Hayato turned his attention to their fight. Ranma had noticed how badly Akitsu was being pressed, and decided that it was time to break off this fight. It irritated him, but he'd already worked out his anger and he didn't want Akitsu hurt. So he decided to use one of his few ki techniques to get some time if nothing else. "Fierce Dragon Wave!"

A ki blast of gold and white rocketed out of Ranma's fist, slamming into Mutsu's chest and carrying him several feet. It didn't do much damage, merely smashing Mutsu back several yards and making him grit his teeth in pain as a single rib broke. Ranma had a lot of ki for a human, but had yet to learn how to put all of it into his attacks.

Yet even so, it was enough. Before Mutsu could move forward again Ranma turned, leaping into the air to avoid Mutsu's "Destructive Point!" The attack shattered the ground around his previous position and for several yards in every direction, but Ranma's jump left it behind.

Ranma landed next to Akitsu, grabbing her up in his arms. "Time ta retreat Akitsu, these guys don't seem like they want ta play fair!" With that Ranma leaped up into the trees. The few Sekirei who were close enough to follow were forced back by several ice shards.

The escaping duo didn't slow down for a while, until Ranma was certain they had left their pursuers far behind them. Stopping on a rooftop he put Akitsu down, with difficulty. She didn't seem to want to let him go, but got the hint when he tried to step back after her feet touched the ground. Not that carrying her had been unpleasant, far from it, which was sort of the point really. "Um, so, let's find out where we are, and then I need to find a grocery store and buy some rice."

Behind them in the park Hayato stared at where the duo had escaped, then looked over at Mutsu, who was holding his stomach gingerly. Shaking his head, the youth asked, "Are we sure that wasn't another Sekirei?"

"I don't know what he was, he certainly wasn't normal. But the next time we fight I won't underestimate him, I'll tell you that." Mutsu said, grimacing angrily. Then he sighed, shaking his head. "Come on, he was right you know, it's pushing past your bedtime now."

Ignoring his Ashikabi's angry shouts Mutsu nodded over to one of the others who picked up their injured brethren as he did the same to Hayato. As they walked back to the limo Mutsu shook his head, wondering what Ranma was and where he had come from. And, possibly just as important, whether there were more humans like him out there.

He suddenly smiled, hidden in the dark as they saw the limo in front of them. _Huh, I wonder what that would do to Minaka's vaunted plans? Nothing good I'm sure._ That thought cheered him immensely. _Maybe this night hasn't been such a bad night after all._

 **OOOOOOO**

High up in MBI Tower the observation teams all looked at one another, wondering the same thing as Mutsu, and not for the first time in the last twenty four hours. The night manager turned to the tech chosen as the day's sacrifice to the crazy bastard they worked for, who gulped audibly. "Grab a copy of that fight then head up to the President's suite. I've got no idea what we're dealing with here, but one unknown Sekirei is one thing, a guy who can fight just as well and looks like he could be her brother is entirely another."

 **OOOOOOO**

By the time Ranma, with Akitsu trailing behind him, found the Tendo dojo, everyone had gone to sleep. Which, Ranma reflected, was probably a good thing considering Akitsu and her current clothing, or rather lack thereof.

He led the way over the rooftops and the two dropped into the garden at the back of the property. Holding one finger up to his mouth to indicate they should be quiet Ranma led the way into the house via the porch, dropping off the two bags of rice he and Akitsu were carrying there. With Akitsu still following him silently Ranma then made his way through the house towards the linen closet that Kasumi had shown him when they were setting up the two futons in the guest room.

"I'm sorry we don't have of futon or a sleeping bag for you, but this isn't even my home really, my old man and I are already guests here. And I doubt you want to share the same room as two guys." Ranma murmured, his voice low so as not to wake up anyone.

He turned watching Akitsu pause for a moment, as seemed to be her habit before speaking before speaking in her soft, halting voice. "Ahh…I am not… sleeping with you?"

Ranma blushed at all the various ways that could've been taken, grateful that the hallway was so dark right now. "No! Er, That'd be bad on many levels. Just very, very bad."

Though her expression and body language didn't visibly change, there was something that told him Akitsu was not happy that and Ranma went on quickly. "Not that you know I mean, you're very pretty, and I wouldn't mind, er, um, y'know, sleeping with you..."

 _In any way you can take that phrase_ said a dark treacherous part of Ranma's mind which he promptly beat back into submission. Hormones had hit him and a few years ago, and he did not like how they seemed to have a mind of their own at times.

In fact even trying to appease Akitsu right now came from that portion of his mind. Ranma couldn't forget the image of the body underneath her shirt, **his** shirt, which seemed to add a strange touch to the entire thing. Her body was one of the best he'd ever seen. Right up there with the blonde, Uzume, Miya, better than the Amazon girls.

Shaking off those thoughts he went on quickly. "B-but I share a room with my father, and, um, like I said this isn't our house so even if I had my own room, there um, there might be trouble there, especially considering the reason my old man wants us here in the first place."

While she didn't follow much of that, Akitsu nodded understanding at least some of it. At the same time whatever it was about her face or body language that told him Akitsu had become sad went away. Instead she shivered a little, and Ranma frowned. "Do ya want to take a bath before bed?"

"Ahh…yes Ashikabi-sama," Akitsu said softly, her gray eyes lightening up slightly.

"And tomorrow," Ranma murmured as he led the way towards the bathhouse were going to be talking about that. "We're going to be talking about that Ashikabi thing very seriously."

He led Akitsu into the bathroom, showing her where the towels were and everything else, before heading inside to start the hot water running for the bath. He turned from that and was about to exit the bath area when Akitsu entered, naked as she had been under that doctor's coat when they first met.

Staring at her, Ranma gulped, blood dripping from his nose as the part of him he'd been ignoring with limited success tried to rear its head once again, before being beaten back in equal parts by self-control and embarrassment. As blood continued to trickle from his nose Ranma turned around quickly. Despite that quick reaction the image of Akitsu standing there in the light of the bathroom, her pearl-pale skin gleaming, her breasts moving as she stepped into the room, her bright cherry red nipples a sharp contrast to the rest of her, was burned indelibly into his head.

Despite his mind nearly shutting down in its battle between his hormones and his self-control, one thought did percolate through Ranma's mind. _So wait, some women don't have hair down there? Or is that one of those things Miya wants to talk to me about? Not looking forward to that conversation at all,_ Ranma thought, the thought actually helping him gain control of himself enough to form words. "A-Akitsu?! What're you doing?!"

Akitsu calmly cocked her head to one side, seemingly unable to understand the question. "Ahh…taking a bath?"

"Yeah, b-but you have to wait until I leave the room before you get undressed!" Ranma squeaked, though if anyone else had been there he would've denied that description. "Girls don't like guys seein' their bodies like that!"

"Ahh…Why?" Akitsu asked innocently.

"T-they just do, it's a modesty thing!" Ranma replied rather lamely, still looking away. "I'm a guy, you're a girl, you shouldn't be so comfortable being naked around me!"

Akitsu frowned, and touched his shoulder gently with one hand. Ranma almost turned around, but stopped himself until Akitsu's other hand came up to take his chin forcefully turning his head around to look at her. "Ahh…You are not a 'guy'." She said after a moment spent marshaling her words. "You said you would be my Ashikabi, my master. Therefore I am your Sekirei. Or do you really not wish to be Ashikabi, Ranma-sama?"

Ranma still didn't have much of an idea what that word meant, but he understood it was **very** important to Akitsu, and that her self-image was wrapped up with it somehow. He knew she needed all the positive reinforcement she could get, so responded promptly. "Of course I do! It's just I don't even know what that means, and we really haven't even known each other for very long, and boys and girls they don't, I mean that is…" he stuttered, his words failing as he looked into her gray eyes.

A faint smile appeared on Akitsu's face and she nodded. "Ahh…we will talk about what an Ashikabi is tomorrow master." She frowned then, marshaling her thoughts once more. "Ahh… I am uncertain what it means on your end. That was never explained to me."

"Er, understood and I know you think you're a Sekirei or whatever, but for now I'm going to keep treating you as a woman. And women don't like men who they barely know seeing them naked o-okay?" Ranma blushed again as he felt Akitsu's breasts pressing into his chest, this time without even a single shirt between them.

He moved back quickly, smacking the back of his legs against the bath moving around Akitsu quickly. "Um, I'll prepare something for you to eat before you go to bed, okay?"

Akitsu barely had time to nod gratefully before her master was out of the room. The broken Sekirei frowned, their interactions were not going anywhere near what she had expected. Though she hadn't really expected much of anything the few times she had been allowed to think of what her master could be.

Still, he was kind, gentle, handsome, thoughtful, and had fought for her! Akitsu was still trying to get her mind around that, a human being able to fight a high numbered Sekirei. It was astonishing, and something which had never even been suggested at any of the briefings she had been given about the world beyond the laboratory.

Akitzu's frown went away as she dipped her hand into the water feeling the warmth. Despite being the Sekirei off ice, Akitsu enjoyed extremely hot baths, and she sighed as she stepped into this one.

When she stepped out of the bathing area several minutes later, Ranma was waiting for her in the small family area which served both as sitting area and TV room. The small sofa had a blanket over it, and the shogi set had been pulled over next to the sofa to serve as a makeshift table.

Hearing her footsteps Ranma turned from placing a small plate of rice and some left over dinner, fish and a very good cucumber side dish onto the shogi set to smile at her only gasp again and turned around quickly. "Akitsu!?" he exclaimed, his voice a sort of strangled, whispering shriek. "Clothing!?"

Akitsu looks down at herself, then up at Ranma's back. For a moment she was silent then nodded. "Ahh, forgot."

"T-try not to forget in the future, okay?" Ranma said, still staring at the wall.

Akitsu turned back to the changing area before coming back in the shirt Ranma had given her, smiling as she smelled her Ashikabi-sama's scent in the clothing still. Ranma turned, smiling at her now, and gesturing her to the sofa and food. "Just leave the plates there, I'll get them tomorrow when I wake up. I'm normally an early riser, my old man gets me out of bed quickly enough."

He frowned thinking. "I think the first Tendo you'll see is Kasumi, she's in charge of cooking and things here. Don't try to explain about the fights or anything, simply say I brought you hear because you didn't have anywhere else to go. I'll try to explain what happened last night from my perspective, okay? I don't think she's the type to really want to hear about the nuts and bolts of the fight, so save that for later."

Akitsu nodded as she sat down, "Ahh…Yes master. I will remember."

"Again with the master thing," Ranma muttered. "Could I get you to just call me Ranma?"

"Ahh…Yes Ranma-sama."

"Right, we'll count that as a work in progress. I am tired so I'm going to hit the hay." Ranma said, turning around and yawning as he moved toward the doorway to the stairs.

Akitsu hand lifted, as if to grab his wrist, before falling back as she nodded. "Ahh…Good night, master."

Ranma frowned at the little gesture, understanding now that her desire to sleep with him was actually a bit more important than he had first thought, and wondered again where this level of devotion was coming from. _Whoever the hell messed with her mind is now on my official shit list! And I'm goin' to enjoy crossin' his name off when I figure out who it was._

"Don't worry, we'll see each other early tomorrow and have some time to get to know one another more." He said, not knowing why but knowing somehow that his presence gave Akitsu comfort. There was just something about her, not her devotion to him, but the neediness about her that called out to Ranma to defend her, even from simply being lonely.

Akitsu nodded, that feeling of being a kicked puppy going away for a moment as she turned to her meal digging in quickly. Ranma smiled at her again, which caused her to stop and smile at him slightly, as if moving her face wasn't something she normally did. "Good night Akitsu."

"Ahh… good night master" she said again, nodding her head after a moment. But there was a faint smile on her face as she watched Ranma walk off.

 **OOOOOOO**

Ranma was not surprised that Genma opened his eyes as he entered his room. He was surprised however when Genma sat up in his futon and stared at Ranma. "Where've you been boy?"

There was no hint of drunkenness in Genma's tone, another surprise, but a good one. "I was over at Miya-nee's as you know, and then I ran into some trouble on the way back. Our martial arts weird ass shit level of trouble."

"Really?" Genma asked skeptically.

Ranma nodded, and went on to describe Akitsu, how the two of them had met, as well as the mark on her forehead and the combat after. He did not mention Miya having met Ukyo, wanting that piece of information to come as a surprise later. He watched Genma's face in the moonlight streaming from the window, and smiled wanly as Genma frowned, scratching at his chin. "And you say this construct on her forehead is somehow blocking some of her ki inside of her? How do you know?"

"I don't, not really, it just looks like a slave mark or something, like something out of science fiction or fantasy novels." Ranma said shrugging shoulders. "It's also blocking her from accessing a lot of her ki, I can tell that much, so it's definitely not a normal tattoo."

Genma frowned, scratching at his chin thoughtfully. "I've heard o' some tattoos which have magical properties, or ki energy built into them. There was one time my old master faced a martial artist who had tattoos along his fingers in such a way as to make 'em into blades as hard as steel and just as sharp..."

The older man shook his head. "I'll look at it tomorrow boy, I've never heard of anything quite like what you're describing, and I don't like this whole Sekirei Ashikabi-master thing just as much as you do. Do you think…" he said going on a little hesitantly he hated admitting this, but even hearing about this second hand told Genma he was out of his depth. "Do you think Miya would know of anything about this?"

"Maybe, or maybe the Tendo's do, they've been living here in Tokyo after all." Ranma shrugged. "Like I said meeting Akitsu wasn't the only weird thing that I ran into, and there were a lot of other women hopping around out there beyond the group I fought earlier."

"Good point, I'll talk to Soun about that in the morning." Genma replied with a nod, then he went on, his shoulders straightening visibly in the moonlight from outside. "However there's something else we need ta talk about now. Your engagement to Akane."

"I thought we'd all agreed to put that off for two years so I can at least get to know them, and it isn't just Akane I have to get to know, but all three I didn't make that choice yet." Ranma said hurriedly, hoping to head any specific idea about that off now.

Genma however waved that away. "Yes, yes you convinced the three of 'em about that need, though I would've still been pushing forward if not for the other thing you pointed out: that Akane has no skill whatsoever."

"I wouldn't go that far…" Ranma said, calmer now. "She's at least a brown belt in judo."

"Which makes her precisely useless at our level!" Genma exclaimed angrily, slapping one hand down his thigh for emphasis. "Soun was supposed to teach his heir all the secrets he'd developed in his school martial arts, the Earth style of Anything Goes, yet she doesn't know anything!"

"Earth style?" Ranma mused then nodded. "Like ours is the Aerial Style right?" He frowned. "Strength and endurance I suppose, though I've gotten a lot of that simply following up on what Miya taught me."

Genma growled, again not liking to admit that Ranma had sought another teacher, but not wanting to bring it up right now. There were more important things to think about now, and he couldn't deny that woman's training had made Ranma an even better martial artist than he would have been, no matter how hard he tried. "You're right, those areas're the emphasis of his school, as well some body modification ki techniques, and the use of polearms and ki manifestation weapons."

He smiled at Ranma's suddenly interested appearance. _Thought that'd grab your attention._ "But he hasn't taught any of his daughters." he said aloud grimly. "I know that training a woman in the Art is a waste… most of the time." Genma went on hurriedly, as Ranma stiffened. "But I think my old friend's own training has slid, something I'm going to make certain of tomorrow. But for the two schools to unite, Akane must be taught his school, so he and I will be training her."

"Do you think she has the Spark?" Ranma said skeptically. The spark was an idea Ranma had come up with, a concept that encompassed natural aptitude, drive and a desire to learn martial arts for no other reason than because you loved it. Frankly he didn't think Akane had that. If she had she would've found another teacher once her father refused to teach her.

"I don't know, but we'll see."

"All right, that makes sense. You're not going to try to teach the other two though? I think Nabiki at least has kept in pretty good shape."

And she really had, at least from what Ranma had seen of her, she seemed to move like someone in full control of her body anyway. _And those legs…_ Ranma shook his head irritably. _Damn hormones, Akitsu really got to me._ Kasumi moved like that as well, but it was harder to tell given her normal rather housewifey dress.

"We'll see," Genma said again before signing faintly. "Frankly, I'm goin' ta have my work cut out fer me trying to convince my old friend to train Akane, let alone the other two. While at the same time possibly whipping **him** into shape too!"

Genma didn't realize it but his attitude towards the Art had gradually evolved over the past few years. With Ranma nipping at his heels, Genma had been forced to step up his own training, training with many of the masters he brought Ranma to meet. Because of this he had regained some of his pride in his school and the Art.

It wasn't perfect, he was still lazy, a misogynist, not very brave, had a very warped sense of honor and a habit of insulting people without even thinking about it while at the same time looking down on anything not connected to the Art. But when it came to the Art at least he was a far cry from the lazy, cowardly and hypocritical panda he might have become otherwise.

Ranma nodded, wondering if he should mention something else that had occurred to him. With the two of them and possibly Akitsu all staying here, it gave the Tendo household three more mouths to feed, and Akitsu at least would need some clothing and some other things beyond that expense. And Soun, as far as Ranma knew, was the only person in the family earning any money.

He decided not to push his luck though. Genma was in an unusually serious mode right now, but it had to deal with the martial arts, not such unimportant things such as money to pay for their stay. The things he and Ranma had to do on the road for food and a roof over their head had taught Ranma that while greedy Genma really didn't like to think about getting food or money the normal way. Jobs were for other people.

Genma however brought up one aspect of that already though why he did wasn't because he worried about the Tendo's financial situation. "Boy, that woman you brought here, you know that trouble is probably going to follow her. Are you sure you want to stick your neck into this?" That was what he said, but what he really feared was that Akitsu might take his son's attention away from Akane and the other two. That could spoil his long-term plans.

"Maybe, though I don't think so. I didn't see any of the other roof-hopping women after we entered Nerima so maybe they won't follow us here for some reason. But whatever the case, I'd still help Akitsu. Whatever happened to her, Akitsu needs someone to care for her, the Code would demand nothing less of me." Ranma said with a shrug, making no mention of his reaction to her body.

Even as Genma stiffened Ranma grinned suddenly. "But hell, even if I didn't want to help her I'd still want her around. You should see some of the ice techniques she has they are way beyond anything I've ever thought possible! I hope I can figure out how she does them if I observe them enough."

Genma breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that it wasn't the girl's looks that had attracted his son, but his do-goody attitude and his interest in the martial arts. "That's my boy."

 **OOOOOOO**

The next morning Genma woke up, stretching lightly as he smirked, looking over towards the futon where his son resided. The boy had never learned the trick of getting up early in the morning, which made dawn attacks very effective so long as you knew the trick to them. But after only a moment his smirk faded. _I'd be much prouder of that if it wasn't the only way I can get one up on the boy these days._

It was supposed to be a teacher's true joy to see the apprentice surpass the master. But Genma's control of Ranma was almost entirely based on the martial arts and his position as Ranma's master, or so he thought. Genma knew if he wasn't careful Ranma would leave him in the dust now that he had access to that woman again, and he resolved to make certain he learned any techniques his friend had created before introducing them to his son as slowly as possible.

 _But for now, best get my licks in before he can…_ Genma's thoughts froze as he finally noticed that there were **two** heads sticking out of the covers of his son's futon rather than one. He frowned, quickly moving over. Standing by the foot of the futon he saw it was the girl Ranma had described from the night before.

Though she wasn't a girl that was obvious, this was a woman, possibly a few years older than Kasumi, with a body to match, obvious even under the was asleep, her arms around his son, a sight which made Genma frown harder. _She didn't activate his sleep-fu?_

Over the many years they had travelled together Genma had trained Ranma in situational awareness, the subconscious ability to know if danger was around whether he was asleep or not. While Ranma's skill with it was limited while awake, asleep his situational awareness became incredibly acute. It had gotten to the point where if any individual or thing got close to him Ranma's body would start to defend itself without Ranma waking up.

Genma of course knew how to get around that: by staying at the bottom of the bed and grabbing the youngster's legs. But this woman couldn't have known that could she? It looked as if she had simply entered the bed as normal from side, but she hadn't activated his defense?

That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all. That meant Ranma was at least unconscious level comfortable enough around her to let his defenses down. _Not good, not good at all. He's not supposed to notice females except for the Tendo's! This, plus the need to wait for Akane to become a true heir of the Earth Style could throw the plan entirely out of whack!_

With that in mind Genma grimly reached forward grabbing Ranma's legs and intending to pull him down and out of the bed as he always did before tossing them out of the window. _That pond will do as a landing point, and once he's put in his place we can talk about getting rid of this woman somehow._

But he couldn't move the boy, something was holding him in place. He looked up frowning and noticed that the girl, what was her name again Akitsu? She had woken up and was staring at him.

Genma could feel the temperature in the room start to drop, but undeterred he once again tried to pull Ranma out of the girl's grip and out of the bed. The girl only tightened her hold on Ranma, squishing one arm under her body as her chest pressed into his side. Suddenly without any kind of gesture or anything guiding it a spear of ice appeared above the bed, shooting towards Genma.

Genma quickly let go of Ranma's feet, bringing up a fist, shattering the ice spear in a single blow even as he stared astonished at the girl. _So the boy wasn't exaggerating about last night_. Genma had felt a brief pulse of ki there, but nowhere near enough to create ice out of thin air let alone throw it at him.

Before he could think on this further Ranma woke up at the noise of the ice shattering, "Wha's that old man?" he mumbled, stretching. He frowned though when one arm refused to move. "Some new way of waking me up…" He trailed off as he turned to see what was impeding his arms only to see Akitsu there, staring at him from barely 6 inches away. "Akitsu?"

It took a second then her presence actually registered in his mind. Ranma literally jumped out of bed, pulling his arm out from under her with a yank. "Akitsu! Wh-what're you doing here!"

The girl looked at him, then down at the bed, then at the sheets that had been over them then back up. "Ahh…sleeping."

"B-but I prepared the, er, that is. I mean, why are you sleeping here in my bed! With me still in it?!" Ranma replied, his words falling over each other in his mouth.

Again Akitsu looked down at the bed then up at Ranma. "Ahh… Warm. And my place is at your side, master."

Genma frowned glancing at Ranma. "So you weren't exaggerating about the mental conditioning boy."

"'Course not." Ranma muttered, his hand moving slowly down his face in exasperation. "Akitsu, I told you why I didn't want to sleep in the same futon with you, remember? Modesty, my sharing a room with my father, us just having met?"

Akitsu looked down at the bed for a third time, before looking up at Ranma her face still as unemotional as ever, yet Ranma could somehow tell she was feeling a little stubborn about this for some reason. "Ahh, you are my master, and you are warm." She said as if that explained everything.

Just then the guest room's door burst open, with Akane racing in. "What the hell is all this screaming about so early!? Some of us have routines they're going about you know, they don't need to hear the two of you yelling…" she paused as she stared at the girl in Ranma's bed, then where Ranma was pressed against the wall, not really seeing his body language, only that he was still shirtless and Akitsu was wearing his shirt.

"You," she fumed, a red aura appearing around her. "You **pervert**!" She shrieked charging forward, suddenly holding a hammer she had pulled out of nowhere.

Ranma noted that must be that ki weapon technique that Genma had mentioned, but at the moment he had other things to worry about.

He was about to dodge out of the way of her attack, but Akitsu swiftly raised a hand, and suddenly a giant block of ice appeared in front of Akane, smashing into her legs and taking them out from under her. Akitsu stood up quickly, moving in front of Ranma protectively. She didn't say anything, but the way she stared at Akane made it very clear that she would not tolerate any threats or attacks on Ranma.

At that point Soun burst into the doorway having heard his daughters scream of fury. "What's all this?!" he paused staring at Akitsu. Then suddenly his head seemed to swell, his eyes glowing demonically and his tongue coming slithering out of his mouth like that of a snake. " _ **Geeenmmmmaaaaa,**_ what has your son done bringing a whore into my house?!"

"Calm down it's not like that old friend!" Genma said, holding up his hands placatingly, backing away from the Head of Terror™ a technique Soun had learned and modified from their old master.

"That's what it looks like," Akane muttered, pushing herself off the floor and glaring at Akitsu, staring hard at the tattoo on her forehead, sneering even as the pain in her legs forced her to calm down. "Some kind of magic using whore!"

Ranma growled, while Akitsu looked blank, not understanding that word. "She's not a whore!" Ranma growled out, his hand suddenly glowing white and gold. "And the next time either of you call her that were going to have… **problems**."

"Perhaps we should talk about what is actually going on over breakfast." said Kasumi's quiet voice from the doorway. Unlike Akane and her father she looked as if she had been up for hours. Though she smiled pleasantly, there was something in it that caused everyone there to pause and nod hurriedly.

About half an hour later Akitsu and Ranma sat at the dining table as Ranma described what had occurred last night as far as he knew, reaching out gently to touch mark on her forehead, which caused her to first flinch away slightly for a second. "I don't what this is, there's something in it that is blocking off… maybe her emotions, maybe just the majority of her ki reserves, she can't access most of it. What she can is still huge in comparison to most, but not quite up to me or my old man's standards."

To one side Kasumi and Nabiki were looking at the girl with sympathy. For her part Akitsu had described what she was as well as the fact that, in her terms, she was 'broken', without going into any real detail because she just didn't know any.

They didn't understand the full story, but they understood that the girl had been mind-fucked, as Nabiki put it. "You believe," she said, softly but with steel in her voice, "that that mark is a sign of your being broken, that without these 'wings' you can't find your destined one? And that you're destined one is someone who will take care of you? That sounds like a fairytale mixed with psychedelic drugs."

"Ahh…." Akitsu sighed, looking up from where she had been leaning into Ranma's touch. "I am a Sekirei. We were let out by MBI to seek our destined ones, to become winged and to gain access to all of our strength. But I am broken. It is a sign of my being broken. Yet Ranma-sama wanted to be my Ashikabi anyway."

"And you really believe you're an alien?" Nabiki said skeptically.

Akitsu merely nodded at that question.

Nabiki really didn't want to believe that, she really didn't. _But it would explain how MBI has so much high tech gear, and how it grew from a small camera company into one of the greatest tech and pharmaceutical giants in the world._ She had even wanted to work there before this. _But brainwashing like this, that's beyond the pale._

Akitsu merely nodded again. None of the Sekirei had ever been told anything about where they came from or why, only that they were not human and that their destiny was to search for their fated one in the Sekirei Plan.

"I think that whatever indoctrination Akitsu went through, it wasn't the full deal. She doesn't know enough about this plan of hers, nor about the world in general judging by her blank looks to some of my own questions." Kasumi said, frowning faintly, her eyes narrow as she set aside her normal mild, uninterested attitude.

"Agreed, I think she was some kind of, well, experiment, MBI or the doctors there wanted to see if they could somehow break this bond thing of hers." Ranma said with a wince, putting an arm over the girl and hugging her so she wouldn't take offense at being talked about like that. Akitsu simply sighed and nuzzled into his side, a sight that caused Kasumi to smile faintly and Nabiki to roll her eyes.

Genma growled a little at that, but his initial anger at the girl's presence and fear of what it meant had given way to interest. The boy was right after all, her ice techniques were incredible, and they might be able to recreate them if she used them often enough. Plenty of time to get rid of her after that. Soun however looked as if he was about to launch into his Head of Terror™ technique until Kasumi turned her smile on him.

Akane too didn't like what she was seeing, and grit her teeth. She really, **really** wanted to pound the pervert, but there were several problems with that. One, her own sister had remonstrated with her about thinking before acting. Two, Akitsu would just use that weird cheating magic on her again, not realizing Akane was merely trying to protect her. Three, she **hadn't** actually seen the two of them do anything perverted. She really had jumped to conclusions, though she didn't like to admit that aloud. _Damn, Kuno and his herd of perverts have really affected me_.

"Whatever has happened, you're welcome in my home as long as you wish." Kasumi said, though her father frowned at that.

"I agree," Nabiki said quickly, reaching over and taking the other girl's hand and squeezing. The very idea of a woman walking around a city with only a coat to cover her, Nabiki shuddered at what might've happened if she had run into anyone but Ranma. _Like she almost had with that schoolboy and his bodyguard, though the Mikogami name, that's oddly familiar, I'll have to look it up._ She looked over at Ranma. "I'll try to gather more information on this Sekirei Plan, though don't you hold your breath, this feels a lot bigger than anything I normally deal with."

Ranma cocked his head at her and looked over at the other Tendos. Kasumi supplied his answer, smiling faintly and touching her middle sister's shoulder. "Nabiki is very good at following up information and rumors Ranma, in fact she has a bit of a business built around that kind of thing at school."

Ranma nodded at that looking at Nabiki with renewed respect. She smiled and nodded her head slightly, then looked over at the clock on the wall. "Speaking of which, I should get going."

Next to her Akane finished the food on her plate quickly, standing up and moving over to join her. It was only now that Ranma noticed both of them were wearing schoolgirl uniform arms. It hadn't really registered during the chaos of his morning so far. "Nabiki wait I'll go with you!"

"What are you talking about sis, you need to show Ranma to school don't you?" Nabiki smirked teasingly. "Besides, this'll give you two love birds a chance to get to know one another." With that parting shot Nabiki left quickly, chuckling to herself as she shook her head.

"That's right my boy," Genma suddenly said smacking Ranma on the back as he puffed himself up importantly. "We signed you up for school over at Furinkan. After all, you need to finish your education, and it'll give you some time to get to know at least two of the girls you might be marrying soon."

" **Not** soon," Ranma growled.

But before he could continue Soun nodded his head quickly. "Indeed, this would give you time to get to know my daughters, and you said that was important. Plus education will also be important going forward"

Ranma growled, but nodded. "I suppose I do have to finish high school at least, don't even want ta think what Miya-nee would say if I didn't." The shudder that followed that was not at all exaggerated. He remembered all too easily that Miya held **views** on education.

As Ranma stood up to head after Akane, who had rushed out the door after Nabiki, Akitsu made to follow him, but Kasumi shook her head. "Not you my dear, we need to get you some more clothing, and I'm afraid to say that you're a little old looking to be a high-schooler, no offense meant."

Akitsu merely cocked her head at that, then shrugged and completed the motion of standing up to follow Ranma anyway, disregarding all of it as unimportant in comparison to staying with her master. Kasumi however touched her hand gently as she too stood. "I'm afraid I'll have to insist. A woman such as yourself should not go out without the proper clothing."

The Sekirei of Ice was about to move around Kasumi and follow her master anyway when she caught Kasumi's smile. Something in that smile made her willpower start to fade away, and after a moment she nodded docilely.

"Good girl." Kasumi said smiling lightly and patting her hand now, addressing her as if Akitzu was younger than her despite the Sekirei's physical age. "Now, could you help me clean up the table? After that, we'll go up to my room and I'll take some measurements. Hopefully Nabiki or myself will have something that will fit you."

That was said in a rather dubious tone, as Akitsu was, while as tall as Kasumi rather fuller in the chest. Her hips were also slightly slimmer, something that Ranma's clothing was showing off to good effect if Kasumi was honest. And she was, Kasumi wasn't a woman who really cared overmuch for appearances, but she was comfortable in her own skin, and easily admitted that Akitsu was a rare beauty.

Akitsu simply nodded, and moved over to the table holding her hands out as Kasumi began to pile them up with cutlery and tableware. The two men had already vacated the table, heading out to the dojo.

 **OOOOOOO**

Minaka scowled angrily, staring at his computer screen, one of several set up on his desk. The fights from yesterday were playing on two of the other computers, and the limited information his sources could find overnight on the young man in the second battle. "'Name, Ranma Saotome, occupation, student, age 17, unknown home address, martial artist level XXX, approach with care.' What in the universe does martial artist extreme mean, and why in the world haven't I run into the term before!?"

His scowl still in place Minaka turned away, staring out his wide windows into the city of Shin-Teito. That sight, the sight of an entire city he had bought lock, stock and barrel, calmed him. What was this martial artist but a small pit of fluff or a cog out of place in the machine that was his dream of the return of the gods?!

His equilibrium so restored, Minaka decided to send out messages to his agents among the government. That phrase said that the government knew something more and he would find out what, though the fact they had such a phrase meant there might be more martial artists like this Ranma fellow out there. The fact he had absconded to Nerima, a district of Tokyo where MBI's influence was barely felt, was an issue for the future.

The government had been oddly reluctant to hand over control of that area and much of it remained, strangely enough, in local hands, most particularly an ancient samurai family by the name of Kuno. It was as if Nerima had been there long before the rest of the city and left alone to develop on it's own for some reason. Yet that was immaterial, the area wasn't self-sustaining and regardless of his personal skill, a single martial artist wouldn't able to fight the Disciplinary squad if I decide to send them in.

The broken one being with him was irritating but not important in the long term. She had been allowed to escape in that manner to meet with Mikogami to hopefully add to Mutsu's presence to create a power block against Higa and his growing influence. She had been broken to make certain Mikogami couldn't become too powerful in his own right. Still, that was really unimportant in the long term so long as Higa didn't add to many Ashikabi 'allies' to his faction in the near future.

If this Ranma and the broken on remained together for a time he would send someone over with a phone or TV, once he figured out where Ranma was staying anyway. _Who doesn't have a cell phone in this day and age anyway!? Mindless peons._

 _Yet the redhead, there's no information about her. But they appeared at the same time, and from what I can see use the same style, a sister perhaps, half sibling kept out of the legal records for reasons of honor? Still, her heh, her I can do something far more amusing about._

Even as he cackled and began to plot a little addition to his grand game, Minaka never realized something very important. He never realized he had no idea where Ranma or his 'sister' had gone in the north of the city, having no coverage there. So he had no idea that either had a connection to the Hanyaof the North. Nor did he really consider the possibility that there might be more martial artists out there as important.

 **OOOOOOO**

Akane glared up at where Ranma was walking along the top of the metal fence as easily as if it was solid ground, having just jumped over a splash of water from an old woman washing her front doorway. _Showoff! And my sister of course just_ _ **had**_ _to leave me with the pervert._

The pervert part of that mental statement wasn't as strong as she could wish, after all she now knew that she hadn't actually happened between Ranma and Akitsu, and she couldn't fault Ranma for helping the poor deluded girl. Yet she couldn't quite leave the thought alone thanks to Kuno and the rest of the idiots at school.

The showoff however more than made up for it. Akane didn't like how effortlessly Ranma could do things like that. It brought to mind how Ranma had beaten her in their spar yesterday so easily, something which rankled badly because it showed that her belief in her being the best she could be was a false one.

 _Hmmpf, I bet I could do that kind of thing too if my father had kept on training me._ With the blame properly placed, Akane asked, "Why the hell are you up there anyway?"

"Stance, balance and footwork training." Ranma replied promptly. "That and allows me to see more of the area around us then I would if I was just walking along the ground. This was one of the first things Oyaji taught me it's a basic training technique for the Aerial Style of Anything Goes. I bet your old man has something similar though I don't know what it could be."

That caused Akane's angry frowned to turn into a thoughtful one. "I don't know either," she muttered, "though if my father and Genma really do start to train me that'll be great." The two of them had mentioned that briefly this morning while Ranma was taking a bath and Akitsu was waiting for him outside the bathing area, Kasumi having made certain she would not follow him in. Then Akane smirked suddenly looking up the Ranma. "So, you like to get high?"

Ranma cocked his head, brows furrowed as he looked down at her. "Was that supposed to be a joke or something? I don't get it."

The girl shook her head. "Never mind. I thought it was funny." she muttered under her breath then frowned again as they turned around the second to last bend in the road heading towards Furinkan high school, the school coming into view over the intervening buildings.

She slowed down, perforce forcing Ranma to do the same as Akane looked up at him. There were some things she had to say right now before they came within sight of the school. "Listen, when we get the school don't act like you know me. In fact don't even speak, and when we get there, get away from me quick, okay? It would just cause a lot more trouble than it's worth."

"Ooookay?" Ranma said slowly, then watched as Akane nodded and began to mutter something under her breath as she picked up speed until she was almost jogging. Keeping up with her Ranma couldn't make out the words, but it sounded like a chant, and the cadence was almost warlike. "Er… are you chanting something, you expecting trouble, getting yourself hyped up?"

"Exactly," Akane smiled grimly. "Like I said stay out of my way." With that she ignored Ranma, and now he could make out the words she was muttering, each time growing louder. "I hate boys, I hate boys, I hate boys!"

Scratching his head bemusedly Ranma continued to sprint along the fence above Akane and a few moments later turning onto the road directly facing into the school. It was a largish school, separated from the rest of the district by a stone wall about a story high, with the main building facing the entrance directly, separated by a wide pathway. But Ranma didn't care about all that, if you had seen one school you had seen them all in his opinion.

No, what grabbed Ranma's attention was the fact there seemed to be a huge crowd of boys on the school grounds between the main building and the gates in the outer wall. Furthermore, they all looked like they were ready for battle. There were baseball players, sumo wrestlers, tennis players of all things, one or two basketball players, martial artists of all sorts of schools, or at least mainstream schools he mentally corrected himself, and kendo club members.

"What the heck?" He muttered, leaping down from the rail and racing alongside Akane for a moment.

"I hate boys, I hate boys, **I hate boys**!" Akane snarled ignoring him and racing forward at a sprinting now to the horde waiting for her. The crowd waited until she had crossed the threshold into the school before charging in turn.

They didn't seem to be working together, each individual was getting into everyone else's way, shouting things as well. "Akane you look lovely this morning, go out with me!"

"Akane, if I beat you we'll go to the movies tonight!"

"Akane please date me!"

"Akane, with this attack accept my love!"

"Date her, love, wha…?" Ranma muttered leaping up onto the outer wall and crouching there staring at the action. "Since when does beating a girl in a melee fight lead ta dating?"

He watched as Akane weaved through their attackers, returning blows that were seemingly rather powerful, lifting up a sumo wrestler at one point. One tennis player got his arm around her shoulders, only to be lifted over her shoulders and hurled into a baseball player, taking both of them to the ground. She swirled around, a low kick taking the legs out from underneath a Kendo user, followed by a right cross to the chin that lifted the man up into the air over another person's head while Akane danced out of the way of a basketball player trying for a high kick.

Individually none of this crowd seemed to be anywhere near Akane level of ability, and she took advantage of it. She ducked and dodged, bobbed and weaved. The numbers of them tried to wear her down, but didn't seem to have any overall plan, and got in each other's way too often. Still to Ranma it was an interesting experience, watching a fight like this from the sidelines.

His thoughts were interrupted by a somewhat familiar voice shouting, "Ranma, over here. Just head into the school."He turned from the carnage to stare up into the building. From a third story classroom Nabiki was leaning out from an open window waving at him. "Don't worry, this goes on every morning."

Ranma frowned but nodded, skirting around the melee he made his way towards the school quickly, then leaped up, landing on the windowsill next to Nabiki. He nodded at her then twitched his head towards the ongoing battle. "What the heck is that all about?"

"A senior in my class made this stupid declaration at the beginning of the school year that no one could 'court' Akane without first beating her in a martial arts match. Yes, I know that's stupid, but all the boys went along with it because he's the best martial artist on campus, and his family basically own the school." Nabiki replied shrugging her shoulders, then looked at him, head cocked to one side. "What do you think of it?"

"I think it's kind of pathetic," Ranma said simply, now sitting down on the windowsill kicking his legs out against the side of the building. He continued to watch, shaking his head. "There we go, some of them are actually working together. Look," he pointed to where a few of the students, not all of them from the same club, seemed to be getting together in the crowd.

At least to his eyes, Nabiki couldn't see it. "I can't see any of them working together honestly," she said staring at the crowd.

"Just watch, that one sumo wrestler's going to go for a low attack, try to get your sisters legs out from under her. Then the baseball player and that Kendo guy are going to come in from either side, and the tennis player's going to try to grab her arm. It won't work though. Akane's going to flip over the sumo wrestler…"

Nabiki watched as Akane did just that, listening to Ranma give an account of what was going on a second or so before the action actually occurred. She shook her head, marveling at his ability to read other people's body language in combat like that.

"Then she's going to grab the baseball players bat, pulling it into the Kendo user's stomach, while kicking out at the tennis player. Uhp, but she'll open herself to that other sumo wrestler, unless Akane can, ahh there she goes, another over the shoulder throw! Akane's quite strong for her size and training I suppose, but her overall strategy needs work. Look, she's backed away from the school now, and has lost her bag."

All around him the other students from Nabiki's class were listening as Ranma continued his commentary, punctuating it with "Not a bad try," and "that's not going to work, Akane might be devoted to staying on the ground, but even so."

"her core's too strong for that kind of grab to work. The sumo wrestlers need to change their styles really. They can match her strength for strength, but her speed and maneuverability make them almost useless in this fight."

"And don't get me started on the European style wrestlers!" That was said after one of the wrestlers tried to get a chokehold on Akane, only for her to break the attack rather brutally by slamming her elbow into the man's chest and hurling him backwards into several others. "Too damn predictable and not nearly strong enough."

The battle began to wind down after a few moments, and Nabiki turned away to stare at Ranma. The commentary had made the show much more interesting this time around, and she wondered idly if she could get Ranma to do it again. The commentary would add to the videos of the fight she routinely made. "So what do you think? I mean about Akane now, not the whole battle."

"She's good, but nowhere near as good as she should be. Your father definitely screwed Akane over deciding not to train her as he did, though maybe he has a point. She had to psych yourself up for this, ranting about hating boys. Not exactly the best mindset to have when it comes to martial arts, or well, anything else I guess. If you use anger like that you're not a martial artist, you're a berserker. And there's no telling what kind of damage a berserker could do with the strength Akane's already got."

Nabiki filed that away for a moment, then waved her hand for Ranma to go on.

"She doesn't use kicks as often as she should, but I don't know if that's her style, or because she's wearing your school uniform. Her situational awareness isn't quite what it should be either. She shouldn't be letting any of those idiots down there successfully grapple with her like she is. Akane should simply have more speed than she does, and her overall form is, well, it's rather abysmal frankly. All in all I'm afraid I'd stand by my original assessment, she's not even a black belt, not really, it's just that her basics stats are much higher than most people's."

Nabiki once again nodded, wondering if Soun and Genma would really be able to train Akane to be better than she was. She doubted it; Akane didn't seem to have that kind of dedication to anything which at her age was fine. Though at the same time Ranma seemed to have dedication to his Art well beyond anything Nabiki was used to.

Unfortunately other people had heard Ranma's assessment of Akane, not just the students in the same room with them and present, but the very senior who had put forth the challenge that had developed into this morning melee.

He stared up at them from around the corner of the building where he had been waiting to move forward to issue his challenge to Akane once again. Hearing someone denigrate his fierce tigress, the young man had decided to deal with this interloper first.

He held up his bokken, pointing it up at Ranma, before declaiming dramatically, "Hold knave, who art thou to denigrate my fierce tigress so!? Your words are that of a snake, all lies designed to beguile the weak! For surely there is no stronger flower of the feminine sex than Akane Tendo! Introduce thyself at once so that I might know the name of the fool who I am going to smite!"

Then he held up a hand dramatically. "But hold, is it not honorable to introduce myself first? For I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" In the sky above a burst of thunder went off, as the sky began to darken noticeably. "Tatewaki Kuno, aged eighteen."

Next to Nabiki one of her factors leaned forward muttering "Blue Thunder? That's a new one, I thought he was calling himself Rising Star or something like that."

Nabiki smirked. "The thunder was a nice touch. Sometimes the gods favor idiots."

That caused the students around her to laugh, while Ranma simply stared down at the slightly older teen, marshaling all his Asama-taught formality before reply. "I'm Ranma Saotome, Akane Tendo's senpai in our families' style of martial arts. I can give my opinion on her abilities all I want so long as she calls herself a student of our school."

"So you say, but surely no student of that school exists who could match Akane! No, thou art speaking out of jealousy, and shall be smitted by the heavens themselves for your lack of tact. Come down here so that I might do their will promptly." Tatweaki pontificated

"Er, I don't think 'smitted' is a word, Kuno-baby," Nabiki drawled.

"Okay," Ranma said ignoring her and leaping down to land easily, barely bending his knees on impact. He glanced at the wooden bokken Kuno was holding, and smirked evilly. At the same time, Miya, dusting her front walkway suddenly looked up with a faint smile on her face. "I see you use a blade, I'm something of the swordsman myself, you wouldn't happen to have a spare on you?"

"As if a knave such as yourself could ever be mine equal with a blade! Never mind! I attack!" With that Kuno moved forward, his bokken thrusting out in a straight jab towards Ranma, before coming around in a short economical slash as Ranma ducked aside.

Ranma dodged both blows, not closing just yet, wanting to see how good this Shakespeare(ish) spouting moron was before ending the match. _Decent enough speed for a normal person, and I guess he's got some style, but he's got no ki to speak of, and I doubt he has much physical strength either._

It quickly became apparent that this Kuno moron really didn't have much of anything going for him. _Man this is pathetic I could beat this guy back before I started training with Miya-nee or headed overseas with my old man. Now I could do it with both hands tied behind my back. Heh, might want to try that sometime if this fruitcake tries to fight me again in the future._

The bell signaling the start of classes began to ring, and Ranma decided to end this farce. Kuno's next swing came at his head and Ranma moved forward quickly. Stepping under the blow he grabbed Kuno's upraised hand lifting his fist slamming it into the underside of the sword, shattering it with ease.

Then as the kendo master stared, Ranma let go his grip on Kuno's hand, striking like a snake, the fingers of that hand slamming several dozen times into Kuno's forehead, so hard it sounded like a staccato rhythm being beaten out on a drum. Then just as the sky began to rain, Ranma leaped up to where he had been, just missing the rain as it began to fall. "Well that was an interesting way to start the school day." He said, smirking.

"What did you do to him?" Nabiki asked, cocking her head to one side thoughtfully as she stared at the seemingly paralyzed kendo user down below while Akane, who had already finished her fight and had been watching the match between her chief tormentor and Ranma, ran inside the school just as the last bell chimed.

"Just gave him something to remember me by." He paused, scratching at his pigtail sheepishly. "Um, and **maybe** a little brain damage. Could be too late for that given how he was talking though."

Nabiki laughed, then clicked her fingers and pointed at one of her factors. The young man ran out quickly heading down towards Kuno. One of her long-term arrangements with the school was that she would always make certain that Kuno was in class, regardless of whatever happened.

No one wanted to even think of him being forced to repeat the school year after all, and one of the few things they couldn't ignore was missing classes or assignments. They could ignore or not report anything else, but scholastic standards had to be met, or at least the letter of them if not the spirit.

"You better had the class Ranma," she said, turning back to him. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

Ranma nodded and exited the room quickly. He soon found himself in the same classroom with Akane in class 2-B, something he frowned at. He didn't think the two of them would get along frankly, not given her reaction to his curse form, Akitsu, or her apparent jealousy and his own ego.

Luckily Akane was seated already when Ranma was told come in by the teacher, surrounded by a few friends where she sat at her desk along the outer wall. "Introduce yourself Mr. Saotome." the teacher said to Ranma.

Ranma nodded, and waved his hand informally at the class. "Yo, I'm Ranma, heir of the Aerial style of Anything Goes School of martial arts. My father and I are currently staying with the Tendo's, who teach the Earth Style."

At that there was some muttering from both sexes. The girls were irritated that Akane and Nabiki apparently had an in with the new guy, who was pretty darn handsome in their opinion. And the boys were irritated given his apparent closeness to Akane, not even thinking about Nabiki.

Ranma ignored the whispers as unimportant and went on. "I've been traveling for most of my life on a training trip, so some of my grades aren't going to be up to snuff, but I speak Chinese, and some Vietnamese well enough to get by, and I'm fluent in English. I'm also not going to be joining any after school clubs so any of ya thinking ta recruit me don't even bother asking."

There were some muttered groans about that, and more than one boy banged his head against the table. Ranma's spar against Kuno had already gone around the school, and any sports club would pay good money to have someone like him on their team.

"That's good enough I think. If you have any questions class wait for lunch." The teacher, a nearly bald man with coke-bottle glasses said. "Mr. Saotome if you don't have books, borrow one from one of your neighbors."

Ranma nodded, moving towards the back of the room. He then began to concentrate on staying awake, helped by the image of Miya and her hanya mask.

 **OOOOOOO**

At the back of his class Kuno stared at his reflection in a small hand-held mirror he had borrowed from one of his female classmates. On his forehead reaching a small red bruise formed the word 'idiot' in kanji.

"For his fingers to move fast enough to do that and all you felt was a single touch…" Nabiki mused from where she was sitting next to him, her voice a mere whisper as to not interrupt the drone form the their math teacher. It wasn't like she had anything to learn from this class anyway. "Interesting, I think you're sort being given a clue here Kuno-baby. Maybe you shouldn't try your luck with Ranma again."

"The foul serpent-tongued lout has simply found some kind of sorcery, my blade will overcome it the next time we meet in battle, never fear. Besides the buffoon didn't even spell it right. You spell it like this," Tatewaki replied, quickly writing out the word on a piece of paper on his desk.

Wrongly, as Nabiki was quick to point out. Tatewaki turned to glare at his female classmate directly. "I hate you Nabiki Tendo."

"The feeling's mutual Kuno-baby." Nabiki replied dryly.

"Still, even certain demons have their uses, and one of yours I know full too well. What can you tell me about this 'Ranma' character?"

"The usual payment, Kuno-baby?" Nabiki asked to buy time as she leaned back in her chair, thinking hard. She'd known this would be coming. Kuno was nothing if not obsessive, beating him like Ranma did, well the only way would've been worse was if he had beaten the moron in his female form. She shivered at the memory of that, magic still bothered the hell out of her.

 _And I don't know enough about Ranma's personality to know what he'd do if he discovered I was sharing things he might not want shared. And, considering that the so-called agreement is open ended on our part, I'd not be served letting people know about it either. So we'll stick with just the facts and precious little of those for now._

By the time Kuno had put the money on her desk Nabiki had finished thinking and she quickly made the money disappear before answering. "Ranma's just like he said, Akane's senpai in Anything Goes. Apparently my father and Genma started their own branches from the main school and want to see which branch is the better one. Unfortunately my father hasn't actually trained Akane for several years, so it's going to take a while until she's brought up to snuff enough to be an equal comparison. Until then Ranma and his father are living with us."

"Say it isn't so Nabiki Tendo!" said Kuno, his mouth wide and his hands on his face in a comical expression of shock and rising anger. "A young man living under the same roof as my beautiful tigress?!"

"No Kuno-baby you're missing the point!" Nabiki said quickly. "It's not Ranma's fault he's staying with us, in fact I think he's got someplace he'd rather stay, but his father and mine are both adamant that they stay with us. It's simply a martial arts agreement thing, nothing personal, nothing emotional or anything!"

"You speak honorably about an agreement between your families' Nabiki Tendo, but it is you who miss the point entirely. This serpent-tongued lout is male is he not? Then no doubt the foul sorcerer will be beguiled by thy beauteous sister's magnificence in time, he cannot fail to living so close to her womanly body! I won't allow it!"

Kuno's soliloquy was interrupted by a piece of chalk smacking into his forehead. "Kuno sit down! You can be crazy on your own time!" the teacher bellowed. Kuno growled, but did as he was told, while Nabiki rolled her eyes and went back to pretending to listen to the class.

 **OOOOOOO**

The day passed uneventfully after that. Most of the boys in the date Akane group knew not to interrupt class and Kuno had no way of avoiding his teacher's orders to stay in his seat. Indeed, even at lunchtime he was forced to remain behind to write out lines on the chalkboard about not interrupting class.

For her part Nabiki quickly escaped the room heading down towards the classroom she knew her sister was in. She saw Akane leave, nodding at her. "What, not going to sit with Ranma?"

"Heck no," Akane said bluntly. "You saw how he and Kuno were this morning, and since everyone knows our families share a style, I don't want any weird rumors start."

"Good point sister dear." said Nabiki smiling and nodding her head while Akane moved around her, not mentioning she had told Kuno about that or that Ranma was living with them. She entered the room just in time to see Ranma leave out one of the windows, and smacked her forehead. "Of course."

Still, she knew her way about the school easily enough and quickly found Ranma up one of the trees out in the yard, laid out on one of the branches. "Ranma, come down here for a second I want to talk to you."

"What's up?" he said, landing next to her easily.

"I figured we should go over the story we want people to know about your curse." she said. "Also, were you serious about wanting to help out around the house? Because I have to tell you, just you're martial arts construction skills aren't going to do much. I mean yes there are a few things around the house Kasumi and I would love you to help us with, but the main thing is going to be…"

"Feeding my old man and me. Trust me, I know how much money it would take to feed me, let alone him." _Without resorting to all you can eat restaurants and dine'n'dashes anyway._ "The only thing I got from him physically is a bottomless pit where my stomach should be."

"Bottomless pit?" Nabiki laughed.

"Trust me the Saotome stomach has well-earned that name. What are you thinking about in terms of making money? You want me to get a job? I'm not certain I could do that and still come to class." He said, not bothering to hide his sudden hope.

"Now, what would this big sister figure of yours say to that?" Nabiki teased, motioning Ranma to sit down beside her as she leaned against the tree trunk.

"Nothing good." Ranma replied rather glumly as he squatted next to her, seemingly as at ease in that position as she was sitting down against the tree. "But if not what's your idea?"

"I sort of… run a few businesses here." Nabiki said delicately. "One of them's information, another's bookkeeping on the various fights that go on."

Those were the ones she was willing to share right now. The third way she made money was selling pictures of Akane to her various admirers, particularly Kuno, who she always charged through the roof for them. None of them were pornography of course, not even of Akane in an embarrassing position or anything, just her going through her daily business, exercising, walking, or just sitting down doing her homework sometimes.

Nabiki knew that they served to add to Kuno's obsession, but there was nothing in them that anyone could really object to. Besides, she'd begun selling those when Akane had accidentally ripped one of her favorite dresses into pieces after realizing that it was too loose in the chest.

Now she kept doing it because she was worried that if she didn't Kuno would send his pet ninja Sasuke to get his own pictures. The money was good, and besides, she knew that Sasuke wouldn't be so careful about what he took pictures of. _Although, now that Ranma and his father are living with thus, maybe I can get them to keep him out. Something to think about if Ranma goes along with some of my plans long term._

"Are you trying to ask me to be some kind of muscle for you?" Ranma asked suspiciously. "Because if you are, the answer is no. I won't use my skills for something like that. If someone else tries to muscle in on your 'operation', or threatens you I'm fine with defending you, but not if you're the one doing the threatening."

"That's fine Ranma," Nabiki waved that away. "I don't ever threaten anyone unless they welch on a bet, then I simply make certain everyone knows they did and let peer pressure take its course. Besides, I'm not exactly defenseless myself. I might not be Akane, but I have kept up some of the exercises our father showed us when were younger."

"I know that," Ranma said smirking a little and tapping her calf where it poked out from under the school uniform. "You got some muscles under there."

Nabiki actually blushed a little at that, pushing his hand away quickly. That he would complement her after he had brought home a girl like Akitsu said something though. And it wasn't like she was used to being complimented.

"Anyway I was thinking more about you doing some commentary on the morning fights like you did, it certainly adds to the comedy value, and I could start charging more for the videos that I routinely have some of my a friends make." She went on. "After that, how would you feel about someone taking pictures of you in both forms?" she asked hesitantly. "Or, if your skills at it are as good as you say, some jobs to take advantage of your martial arts construction skills?"

Ranma frowned thoughtfully, pulling at his pigtail. Before he could reply however Kuno suddenly ran towards them from the school. "There you are, your foul magics will not avail you against the Blue Thunder, foul sorcerer!"

"He's already conscious?" Ranma asked, surprised. "Impressive durability."

"We think he's been dropped on his head for years, so any damage you to do that thick skull of his isn't going to keep." Nabiki said, cocking her eyebrow thoughtfully as Ranma moved forward, grabbing up a stick from the ground.

It was a fallen branch, left behind by some of the groundskeepers, about three feet long. Using his hand like an ax Ranma quickly clipped off the few smaller branches on it, before moving into a sword stance that Nabiki, admittedly no expert, had never seen before. The 'sword' was held straight in one hand over a shoulder pointing forward, the hand somewhat back of his head, his other hand out thrust, palm open.

At the site of the other teen taking up a weapon Kuno laughed. "You mean to match your feeble prowess against me in my owndominion? More fool you, but I will not afford you any mercy!"

Ranma's loose hand, shifted into a fist, the middle finger flicking up in a derisive gesture as he smirked evilly. "You consider yourself a swordsman you Shakespearean knockoff? Well I've been taught by the best swordswoman in the world and you don't even come close. Something I'm going to prove it to you."

"Enough false bravado I attack!" Kuno declaimed, moving in with the same forward thrust, his feet moving quickly as he thrust forward with all of his body weight behind the blade before swinging around in a slash at waist level.

Ranma however dodged to one side his body low to the ground, his makeshift sword flashing up to smack Kuno's second attack away with punishing force. Kuno nearly lost his hold on his blade, but twisted with the force of the attack, coming around in a blindingly fast slash, which Ranma quickly blocked, smacking it aside again before moving forward with a small probing attack of his own.

At least he thought of it as a probing attack, Kuno barely got his blade up in time to deflect it, and he stepped back hurriedly. Bringing his sword forward he shouted "I attack, hiyahh!" the blow started from his waist and zoomed forward in a slash, too short to actually hit Ranma. Instead, it created a slash of air pressure, which shot towards Ranma.

But this wasn't the first time Ranma had seen such tricks. Even though he was surprised Kuno had such tricks, he quickly reinforced his makeshift blade, smacking the air pressure to one side.

The wind pressure attack carved a furrow out of the ground, and Ranma frowned angrily gritting his teeth. "What would you have done if that had hit Nabiki or any of the other students all around us you moron!?" They were about fifteen or twenty students scattered around where Nabiki and Ranma had been eating, but Ranma had deflected the shot away from all of them.

"You blame me, yet t'was your act which didst put them in danger! If you would only surrender to your just fate this could be over!" Kuno cried, smashing his sword against Ranma's defense in a series of blows with Ranma deflected, easily.

"All right that's it!" Ranma growled, and then went on the attack for real. A thrust came in, which Kuno barely dodged in time, followed by a slash to his leg, which he barely blocked, then it was all he could do to keep up, as Ranma went to town on him, cutting his clothing, his arms and legs, not penetrating the skin but leaving bruises every time his makeshift sword landed. His speed and strength was such that everyone watching knew Kuno was severely outmatched, it was only his desire to make a point that kept Ranma from ending it quickly.

Finally he smashed up powerful blow into Kuno's sword, shattering it, and then before Kuno could move, stepped back quickly, bringing his sword up and around. His eyes blazed white for a moment and he shouted "Fierce Dragon Slash!"

From the end of his makeshift blade out Crescent of white and gold energy shot out, impacting Kuno and flinging him backwards over the heads of the watching crowd to slam into the side of the building with enough force to leave a crater. "The next time you challenge me, I'm going to do even worse than that! I have no patience for fools who threaten other people!" Ranma shouted.

"What was that?!" Nabiki exclaimed, coming out of her stupor after a few seconds, while the rest of the crowd simply stared from Ranma to where Kuno was even now falling forward out of crater his body had made in the stone wall of the school building. Akane too quickly came out of it, almost glaring at Ranma, but there was more wonder than wounded pride in her expression now.

Ranma smirked at her then looked down as his makeshift weapon began to collapse into sawdust. "That was a ki attack, one of the few I've got in my bag'o'tricks at this point. I told you my father and I have been on a training trip, that's just one of the tricks I've learned."

"First magic now ki attacks." Nabiki said, rubbing one hand through her hair irritably. "Why am I even surprised?"

"I don't know, why?" Ranma asked, causing Nabiki to roll her eyes as she smacked his arm lightly.

That blow and the previous beating overcame Kuno's durability for the rest of the day, and Ranma was forced to sit through the rest of a very boring day at school, feeling Akane's eyes on him from time to time, sometimes speculatively, other times angrily. At the end of the day, Ranma and Akane met up with Nabiki at the school entrance.

However when Nabiki tried to continue their talk from lunch Ranma shook his head, moving over to the wall from where he could make his way to the rooftops beyond. "Sorry Nabiki, I'd like to talk to you, but I want to head home and grab Akitsu for a bit, the mystery around her is more important than money matters right now."

The very idea of something being more important than money made Nabiki wince, but she had to agree with that assessment, so she merely nodded. She and Akane watched as Ranma raced off over the rooftops, then Nabiki turned to Akane, a smirk on her face. "So, why can't you do that kind of thing sister dear?"

"Shut up Nabiki! I could do that kind of thing if I wanted to." Akane growled, moving off quickly.

For his part, Ranma ran as easily over the rooftops as he had walked on the rails that morning. _Akitsu might not be able to tell me what's really going on, but I'd bet those two at Izumo house can. And if they can't, then Miya-nee almost certainly will!_

 **End Chapter**

* * *

I hate writing Kuno-speech. Seriously. I don't know what's worse, him or Yoda/Yaddle. Ughhhh…. I honestly wanted the chapter to be longer, to carry on through the rest of the 'big reveal' section, but writing Kuno just killed all my forward momentum. Do you all think it would make the story too serious too quickly if I killed him off in the next chapter?

I wanted to introduce Ranma to Akitsu as quickly as possible and show how this Ranma is different from canon Ranma in the way he deals with Kuno et al, plus the changes to Genma and the start of the changes that will come from that. I am going to space out the first few events from Sekirei canon for a bit, to let Ranma get his feet under him, get to know Akitsu, introduce a few other characters, and have a few adventures from the Ranma side of things, but that shouldn't take more than two chapters before Ryoga shows up, and things kick into high gear.

Hope you all enjoyed this and as always please review.

Originally this chapter's author's end notes contained a set of comedic rules that the Sekirei have to follow, in the same spirit as the fic _T_ _hings Gryffindor House Are No Longer Allowed To Do_. However I posted them without permission from Mordreek, not remembering that he had originally wished to publish them himself as a separate fic after working on them in collaboration with others. As such, and because the original idea was his and he has indeed been continuing it, I have removed them.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Sekirei or Ranma 1/2. One needs to have more character building to go with its boobies, and the other just has too many shounen stereotypes to list here.

Short I know, but I said a while back the chapters for this and for my other works besides ATP would be smaller, the last chapter of Horse just got away from me. I probably would have added more, possibly spread out the events/discussions here, but they made sense happening all in a jumble like this.

This chapter has not been betaed. I have sent it off to my beta, and will update the chapter when he gets it back to me. However I wanted to post this as soon as possible, to keep with my two-story a month update. Also, some of you need to read my author's notes. I saw several reviews for ATP asking where this was, when I said this chapter would be a few days. Frankly, I'm happy it only took one more considering I only started work on this chapter on Sunday…

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Mistaken Assumptions Can Hurt**

It took only a few moments for Ranma to reach the Tendo place but he paused suddenly on a rooftop nearby, then sighed jumping down to the roadway. _Manners Ranma, manners. That means entering from the front door rather than jumping over the wall._

Ringing the doorbell, he wasn't surprised to see Kasumi answering it. "Hey Kasumi, was Akitsu any trouble?"

"Oh, she is quite a dear girl, indeed I was happy for the company." Kasumi said with a smile. "Two extra pairs of hands definitely made my chores go much faster, why I even had a few hours to read some of my old textbooks. How was your first day at school?"

"More interestin' than I expected actually. You know that Akane's been dealing with this senior who wants to beat her up to in order to date her, and that it's spread to the rest of the school?" Ranma asked as he entered the doorway.

"Young Tatewaki Kuno," Kasumi sighed. "Yes, both Nabiki and Akane have mentioned him and his odd brand of idiocy. We've tried to get the school to put a stop to it, but even my father's position in the local town council hasn't been able to do anything there."

"Nabiki said that his father owned the school or something? Weird, but not the weirdest thing IEEE!" suddenly Ranma shrieked as he turned slightly only to see Akitsu standing just behind him and to the right, where she definitely hadn't been a moment ago. "Akitsu! Don't do that!"

Akitsu cocked her head to one side, making a questioning noise as if she didn't understand what he was saying while to one side Kasumi laughed at his surprise. "Ahh… my place is by your side Ranma-sama."

"Again with the sama thing, Akitsu?" Ranma chuckled, shaking his head even as he smiled at the young woman. "I'm going to break you of that habit if it's the last thing I do."

Though she did not respond verbally a certain mulish gleam entered Akitsu's normally impassive eyes. Seeing this Ranma groaned mentally, knowing that job was going to probably be just as tough as figuring out what this whole Sekirei Plan was supposed to be about.

Stepping back slightly, Ranma looked at what Akitsu was wearing, and had to fight down a blush. She wore a long skirt and blouse combination that looked like it came from Kasumi. It was normally a very modest dress but while Akitsu was as tall as the other girl, she was at least two sizes larger in the chest area and had slightly wider shoulders as well. Kasumi had obviously tried to let the blouse out, but even so she'd been forced to let a few buttons undone.

Kasumi laughed at his expression, shaking her head. "As you can see, Akitsu will need an entirely new wardrobe. She's too tall for anything from my Nabiki to fit, and she's rather too chesty for anything I have to fit."

"We were planning to go out shopping anyway Kasumi." Ranma replied shrugging. "Miya said I needed some things, though I don't know what she meant by that."

"I do, and I think you should probably prepared to be embarrassed." Kasumi said dryly, refusing to elaborate further. "I hope she sits you down and talks about certain… downsides to the female form too."

"What you mean besides having these great honking things on my chest, and the change throwing off all of my balance and everything?" Ranma asked. "Or about being generally weaker in my female form?"

"Those are mere incidentals to the rather large elephant in the room Ranma." Kasumi replied her tone still dry though inside she was giggling. Today had truly been a fun day. Indeed she'd had more fun today than she could remember having in years.

Firstly, Akitsu had indeed been a joy to have around. She didn't talk much, but she was still good company, an excellent listener and hard worker. She had taken to aiding Kasumi in her chores, particularly cooking far better than her other sisters.

Second, Ranma's arrival was a breath of fresh air to the household, hinting of adventure and far away shores. Even if she was still a little leery about magic in general, the idea of Ranma and whatever Akitzu was involved in promised that Kasumi's staid homebody existence might see some adventure.

Kasumi had been forced to step up to the plate when her mother died. Becoming a second mother to her two siblings she had practically raised Akane, and often regretted the fact that she had concentrated on that and keeping the household going, because it had allowed her father to fall into bad habits, becoming an emotional wreck of a man for years who let himself go physically. Something she hoped that Genma, who she didn't truly approve of otherwise, would correct.

And as for Nabiki, she had retreated for a time emotionally, and it taking several years for her to regain her emotional equilibrium. Even now Nabiki didn't open up to others very easily, and there were places inside Nabiki that even Kasumi didn't know. But even Nabiki had shown signs of 'thawing' when Ranma arrived, eager to meet her possible fiancé, and she seemed intrigued if disturbed by the mystery Akitsu represented.

The two martial artists also represented possible growth for Akane. Kasumi doubted Soun would ever be able to train her, but if Akane was serious about it, Genma seemed willing to step up to the plate, which Kasumi felt might force Akane to mature beyond her current nature, or possibly grow out of being a martial artist at all.

Ranma would have questioned her further, especially seeing the small smile on her face, he knew that expression, but his father's voice interrupted them. "Is that you boy? Come out here!"

The younger boy nodded to Kasumi once more, then walked off saying over his shoulder, "If you need any shopping for done, make up a list, I'd like ta make up for not being able to do much shopping yesterday."

"I'll do that, feeding you, your father and Akitsu will probably take quite a bit more food than I'm used to having on hand." Kasumi watched Ranma and Akitsu walk off still wearing a faint smile, before turning to the kitchen.

Out in the garden Ranma found Genma and Soun obviously having just finished a spar. And it was just as obvious that Soun had gotten the worst of it. He was gasping out of breath down on one knee, his face bruised and one forearm black and blue. Across from him Genma stood dripping wet in his panda form, apparently the victim of a retaliatory splash from the pond.

"Any progress?" Ranma asked, flicking one hand towards Soun and then back over his shoulder towards Akitsu. Akitsu in turn was staring at the strange panda, torn between a desire to pet it and look around for her master's father, wondering where he had gone.

His father shook his head, pulling out a large wooden sign on which words were written. "What we feared is true, my old friend has lost much of his training over the years." The sign flipped, and without any sign of pause, showed, "And worse, can no longer use much of his school's techniques!"

Soun looked up at his old friend and his son, shaking his head. "I, I hadn't realized how much I'd fallen out of shape," he said between gasps. "I really let myself go since my darling Kimiko…" He paused, his eyes watering, his lip quivering about to launch into one of his patented sob assaults.

But before he could Genma-panda hurled his sign at him. Or Akitsu thought it was the sign, but instead of the words that had been on it, there was a new message displayed. "None of that! It'll take work Soun, but don't worry we'll get you in shape again."

Something in the panda's expression made Soun wonder if it would be worth it, but Genma had already turned away, nodding his ursine head towards Akitsu who blinked in surprise as the panda was suddenly holding another sign. "We had Akitsu show us more of her powers, boy." Flip. "They're intense, very powerful, very adaptable." Flip. "More defensive than anything else, but she has a decent offense when she wants to."

Cocking her head to one side, Akitsu actually frowned slightly. _How are the messages on the signs changing like that? And where did the panda hide it anyway?_

Her interest in the signs ended abruptly when Ranma turned to her, smiling widely. Akitsu blushed slightly under his regard, moving forward to stand closer to him, not certain what she had done to earn that smile but happy it was directed at her. "Sparring with you is going to be fun Akitsu!"

At that Akitsu paused, a faint frown appearing on her face but after moment she simply nodded her head docilely. If that was what her Ashikabi-sama wanted, they could do so.

Seeing her docile nature Ranma frowned again, shaking his head slightly. "That's another habit were going to have to break Akitsu. Don't go all ice statue like that, you have a problem, talk to me."

Akitsu frowned looking at him, but then nodded her head slowly. "Ahh…I do not like the idea of hurting you Ashikabi-sama. You are strong, stronger than we were told humans could be. I know this from last night. But even so, I do not wish to hurt you."

A sign was thrust down into the water of the pond, the word **"Bah!"** written out on it in bold lettering, visible even as it splashed a small wave of water at Ranma. As the now female Ranma glared at his old man, the sign flipped again. "If my son was afraid of a little pain he'd be the little girl he turns into for real!"

Growling irritably, Ranma pulled off her now soaked shirt, wringing it out while before turning a smile on Akitsu. She didn't notice Soun gaping at him, turning away rapidly. "Despite my old man's backhanded way o' complimenting me, he's right, I am used to pain when training. And training against you will be good training if either we have to face anyone with similar element-based powers. I already ran into one gal with something similar before I met you so it's possible."

Akitsu cocked her head to one side, frowning at that but this time Ranma knew what was causing it. "And yes Akitsu, if you have to fight in this Plan thing, I'm going to be fighting with ya, just like I did last night."

Akitsu sighed, but nodded her head slowly. This time it was a nod of agreement, rather than a nod of submission, and Ranma smiled.

Seeing they were finished with the sappy stuff, Genma spoke up quickly, having taken the time while they were talking to pour a pot of hot water over himself. "Anyway, we saw her powers, but can't make head nor tails of 'em. We can both feel **something** going on with her ki, but we can't understand it."

"So we've decided something, the two of us are goin' on a training trip." The seemingly obese man pointed a finger at his old sparring partner while Akitsu blinked at the change before making the mental connection between that change and her master's. "I need to whip Soun into shape before trying to do the same with his youngest, and I want to call in at a few shrines. We need ta figure out a way to follow the flow of ki within Akitsu's body if we're going to replicate her techniques."

 _If that's possible_ _at all_ Ranma thought, shaking her head slightly. Ranma and his old man had run into a few martial arts techniques over the years that were purely family-based: no one outside the family could perform them even if they were taught how to. He/she felt certain that would prove the case with Akitsu and her ice powers. But even so it might be a good idea since it could lead to fixing whatever that mark on Akitsu's forehead was doing to her.

"All right old man, I understand that, but Miya-nee wants ta talk to you next weekend, you can leave after that. She's not going to hurt you or anything." Ranma hastened to add seeing his father paled noticeably. "She just wants to know more about the training trip, and about the specific masters we trained under. She seemed impressed with my progress, and I figured you'd be able to answer those questions better than me."

Ranma had made up most of that on the spot but it sounded good, and hid the real reason why he didn't want Genma to escape just yet. Ranma was eager to see what Ukyo would do to the moron. So he watched as Genma nodded slowly, his ego almost visibly fed at the idea of Miya being impressed by their training.

"Anyway, I'm going to go take Akitsu out shopping and introduce her to Miya-nee. She wanted ta go shopping with me for some reason for my other form, don't know what that's about." Ranma finished, shrugging.

Being a father of three girls and having seen how Ranma treated his female form Soun coughed rather delicately, looking away from the still soaked redhead. "I suggest you take a bath first, and ask for what you're friend wants to buy you, that would probably be bras and underwear."

He shuddered remembering the times he had to buy those for his daughters. Those had been the most embarrassing moments of his life! He still couldn't remember what he had done to aggravate Kasumi enough for her to push that job off on him, but she had.

Though he still didn't remember, Soun had forgotten Kasumi's birthday not once, but three times in a row. Even gentle Kasumi had wanted a bit of revenge after that, made worse by Soun still pushing more of the duties around the household onto her shoulders at the time.

"Why would I need those?" Ranma asked cocking his head to one side.

Soun blinked at Ranma, then a horrible suspicion went through his mind for a moment, powered by how disinterested in his female body Ranma seemed. "Genma, you did give your son the Talk at some point correct?"

"Of course I did," Genma said waving that off while Ranma blanched of the memory. Genma had indeed tried to give him the Talk, which had been embarrassing, confusing and horrifying all at once.

Luckily for him the local judo master had overheard them and pulled Ranma aside the next day to give him a more understandable version. It hadn't helped much, but had at least given Ranma enough information to know the changes his body was going through were normal.

Soun breathed a sigh of relief, shaking his head quickly. "Let's just say that the bras in particular will help you from receiving unwelcome attention."

"Still don't get it but whatever," Ranma said cheerfully. "I'll trust Miya-nee know what she's doing. But I am going to go take a bath first. Get a change of clothing too."

With that he turned, entering the house, with Akitsu following him. She followed him all the way into the changing room, and it wasn't until Ranma was actually sitting down on the bench preparing to wash himself that he realized she had followed him in their too. "AHH, Akitsu!"

 **OOOOOOO**

"Hey, did you see that new message from MBI?"

"Sure did man, 'A redhead of fiery disposition has been freed and is yours for the taking if you can find her.' Sounds like a lot of fun. I'm gonna grab my girl, and we'll see if we hunt this redhead down. Heh, I've always wanted a threesome."

"Dude leave some of the wealth for the rest of us!"

"You know the rules man, first kiss, first served."

 **OOOOOOO**

A few moments after that scream a rather disheveled and heavily blushing Ranma and a silent and unemotional but somehow satisfied Akitsu joined Kasumi in the kitchen. "Do you have that list Kasumi?"

Kasumi smiled, making no mention of Ranma's blush. "Here it is, and here is some money for the food. If you tell the grocers that you're buying for the Tendo family, he'll probably give you a discount. I helped him when his baby had a cold a few months ago." Doctor Tofu had been busy with an elderly patient at the time, and the grocer, a first time father, had panicked at his's son's first cold. "I would like to talk to you this evening Ranma, so if you could be certain to come back for dinner that would be most helpful. Before you go though, Akitsu could I trouble you to meet me some shaved ice? It's rather hot out, and I thought it might do for a nice treat."

Akitsu frowned, cocking her head as Ranma laughed. "Ahh…Shaved ice?"

It took Akitsu a few moments, but she was able to create small pieces of ice, which Ranma then crushed into a large bowl. From there Kasumi quickly separated into several smaller bowls, adding flavors to them and putting most of them away in the fridge. After they were done Ranma stole a spoonful before heading out the door into the garden, planning to jump out over onto the rooftops.

As they passed through the sitting room Nabiki and Akane arrived and the two of them stopped, watching as Ranma and Akitzu jumped to the top of the outer wall and away. "Wow, so even Akitsu can do that." Nabiki smirked, nudging her younger sister. "Maybe if you ask nicely they'll teach you that kind of thing. Or maybe how to do those ice attacks of hers. How cool would it be if you could use those on Kuno? Bet he'd leave you alone then."

Even though the idea did have some appeal, Akane still growled at her older sister, who had been not-so gently teasing her about how she stacked up against Ranma on their way home. "Shut up Nabiki! I don't need his help, I just need daddy to take my training seriously! And Akitsu's not a martial artist, she's some kind of alien witch, remember?"

She stopped when she saw the shaved ice on the kitchen table. "Oh, shaved ice."

 **OOOOOOO**

Two rooftops away from the Tendo place, Ranma grinned suddenly, poking Akitsu in the shoulder. "Tag, you're it!" With that he raced off, leaping and bounding from rooftop to rooftop faster and faster.

For a moment Akitsu simply continued following Ranma at her slower pace, trying to decide if she should really try to win or simply follow, wondering which one her Ashikabi expected of her. After moment however she decided that since her Ashikabi-sama was a rather competitive person, he probably expected her to the same at least in little ways like this. With that in mind she sped up, but was unable to quite catch Ranma before the two of them up began to enter the North.

Neither of them noticed that dozens of cameras had been following them from the moment they entered Tokyo proper, or that there were even a few people, mostly Sekirei but one or two Ashikabi who noticed them and tried to follow along physically. None of them succeeded however before they crossed into the north of the city, which, for some reason unknown to most was a no-go zone for the Sekirei Plan.

Seeing the evening in the distance Ranma paused then leaped down to the road. _Manners, manners. You don't want Akitsu to give me a bad them worst impression after all._

He turned with a smirk to watch Akitsu jumped down beside him only for his victorious expression to collapse into a blushing stuttering mess as her dress billowed out around her knees when she jumped down. This caused Ranma to catch a glimpse right up her dress, which showed him far more than he was ready to see. Turning his eyes away rapidly he gasped "A-Akitsu! Where're your panties?!"

Akitsu landed, cocking her head thoughtfully to one side as she reached down, touching the front where her panties would be underneath her skirt. "Ahh…Forgot." she said finally.

Ranma groaned, then shook his head. "Come on, I'm certain Miya-nee or Uzume will have a pair you can borrow."

The ice Sekirei nodded, and followed him docilely as they made their way over to the inn ringing the doorbell. Miya answered the doorbell quickly, smiling as she saw Ranma. "Hello Ranma, come inside. I'll be just a moment…" Miya trailed off, cocking her head seeing Akitsu behind Ranma. "Who's this?"

She of course recognized Akitsu as one of her feathers, nothing could keep her from sensing that, and she found herself irritated that the decision of when to talk to Ranma about the Sekirei and MBI had been taken from her. The mark on Akitzu's forehead however drove that out of her mind. _What happened there!? How could a Sekirei's ability to bond be broken like that!?_

"This is Akitsu, she's a Sekirei according to her. I guess those women I ran into yesterday are the same thing just like Uzume. And you too?" Ranma asked, one eyebrow raised as he looked at Miya.

"Yes, well, I should have realized this would come out sooner than I could have wished." Miya said with a faint chuckle, one hand rising to cover her mouth demurely as she gestured him inside with the other. "No doubt you have questions."

"Tons," Ranma admitted. "A lot about you, and a lot about why Akitsu thinks she's 'broken', and what Sekirei really are. Akitsu's told me what she knows but that wasn't much, and while I can sort of feel some of why she might think she's broken I can't explain all of it, and I'd like to know what you know about this plan or whatever it is."

"Not as much as I'd like," Miya said shaking her head irritably. "Still, sit down and I'll tell you what I know…"

Over the next few minutes, Miya filled Ranma in on the Sekirei Plan, backing up Akitsu's explanation about them being aliens. She had no idea why they looked almost exactly like humans, or any of their history, though Ranma wasn't interested in all that. What he was interested in was the bond, the Sekirei Plan, Akitsu, and Miya herself.

"The Sekirei Plan is a mad scheme made up by Minaka, head of MBI. I have no idea why, originally he intended, or at least he told us that he intended to let Sekirei out into the general population slowly in order to both guard our secrets and find out destined ones. You have to know how the governments of the world would respond to the idea of aliens, especially given the ship and the technology it represents."

Miya sighed looking away as she remembered the battles she and the original Disciplinary squad had faced to protect the ship and the feathers within. Across from Miya, Ranma waited while Akitsu sat docilely beside him, sipping at the rather good tea Miya had served them. "But somewhere along the line that changed. He is still releasing the Sekirei as he promised he would, but he won't allow them out of Shin-Teito, and he is forcing this Plan of his, pitting Ashikabi and their bonded against one another."

Lifting one hand up to her mouth, Miya chuckled. "Of course most of my feathers enjoy the challenge, we are a rather combative race after all. But I can't say I approve of the trend you reported, several Sekirei ganging up on one? That isn't honorable. But I'm just an old widow woman so what do I know?"

At Ranma's deadpan gaze she pouted. "Mou, that's not very nice Ranma." Shaking her head Miya went on more seriously. "I have no idea what Minaka's goal is, or why he put this game in place. By the time it began I was well out of the loop, and then my husband..." She broke off, shaking her head. Takehito's death was the one wound that would never heal.

Ranma nodded, frowning slightly at that, but turned their discussion specifically to the bond. Here Miya was able to give him a slightly more complete, if not very detailed answer: that the bond developed between an Ashikabi and a Sekirei, merging their souls, which Ranma took to mean ki, and using the Ashikabi's ki to unlock the Sekirei's full potential. A Ashikabi could have more than one Sekirei, there was no social stigma among them against harems, and indeed the more Sekirei an Ashikabi had, the more powerful his 'ki signal', what Miya called his call of compatibility, became.

One area Ranma questioned closely was the amount of control the Ashikabi had over the Sekirei, not liking how docile Akitsu was toward him, the entire master thing weirding him out. Miya replied that was mostly indoctrination, but real for all of that since the Sekirei had all been 'adjusted', weakened so they could not harm their bonded Ashikabi. But the bond was a true two way street, both sides got out of the bond what they put in. A stronger, more loving relationship between Ashikabi and Sekirei would allow both to grow stronger than a one-sided relationship.

"Of course, given Akitsu's predicament… I would assume that she will be stronger and have more control of her current level of power than others of equal rank. But unless you find a way to repair the bond, she won't be able to become stronger than she is now." Miya sighed sadly, looking at Akitsu closely. She looked familiar, but it was best to make certain. "Tell me dear, do you know your number?"

Akitsu looked up from where she had been drinking her tea. While enlightening, most of what they had discussed wasn't anything she was particularly interested in. All she knew was that despite being broken, Ranma accepted her. Besides, sheer strength was one thing, technique another, something she had learned from watching her master fight the male Sekirei the evening before. "Ahh… Number 7."

Uzume whistled, while Miya nodded, satisfied. At Ranma's look Miya explained quickly. "The general rules is the lower the number, the stronger the Sekirei. There are of course exceptions, but the Sekirei below 15 are all very strong, both in will and physically."

"Okay, so… you lot are aliens who bond with humans via your ki, calling the person you bond with your Ashikabi, and you think if you can bond with them it means you're destined to be with that person forever. There is a big-ass competition going on between all these bonded pairs an' groups, with an unknown prize at the end, and it'll probably end up being team-based combat at some point." Ranma summarized in his own way. "But what happened to Akitsu to make her unable to access her ki, er to bond like you said?"

"That… I do not know. I have never heard of the ability to bond being broken like that." Miya replied honestly. Ranma swiftly explained what he and his father could faintly sense occurring within Akitsu, but couldn't understand. Miya replied that it was more than she expected but despite her habitual self-control it was obvious the subject was making her **very** angry, so Ranma decided to change the subject.

Pulling at his pigtail Ranma he frowned, looking at Miya. "Okay, so where in all this do you fit?"

"Not something I wish to talk about at present Ranma." Miya replied firmly. Her own history was something she wanted to lead up to slowly, not pile on the number of revelations she'd already had to share today. "I will tell you soon, but I think we've talked enough about such matters for one day. Do remember we need to go shopping. You need bras, and I have no doubt that Akitsu could do with a whole new wardrobe at least judging by the strain she's putting that blouse under."

"Did I hear someone say shopping?" Uzume asked, suddenly, sticking her head around the corner. Seeing Akitsu her smile widened. "Wow, Ranma, you dog! I thought you were engaged to one of the Tendos, no way is this babe one of them, not with that mark on her forehead."

"Oh shut it Uzume." Ranma retorted. "Besides I thought I said we wouldn't need your help shopping."

"You didn't actually think I'd not invite myself along anyway did you? This is going to be hilarious." Uzume replied, not bothering to hide her smirk as she sat down next to Akitzu on her other side, who looked at her, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Hey, ah, don't worry or anything, I might be a Sekirei like you, but I've already got an Ashikabi."

Turning around slightly, she pulled her brown hair out of the way, baring the back of her neck. "See?"

Akitzu nodded, feeling both relief and jealousy at the sight of the Sekirei crest on Uzume's neck. Then she looked at Ranma, who was looking at her with concern, and her jealousy faded slightly before he turned away to look at Uzume. "Your partner doesn't live here though?"

Turning to the brunette Akitsu and Ranma both saw her face fall slightly as she looked away. "Um, nah, Chiho-baby's sick, she lives at a hospital downtown." That admission made Ranma and Akitsu both feel rather awkward, but Uzume didn't let the moment linger and she smirked at Ranma. "So you've decided you do want a harem huh? This gal, one of the Tendos, Ukyo…"

"Akitsu and I met up last night, and I promised to help her, it's got nothing to do with this Sekirei stuff." _Though if I run into any fights, or see something like with blondie again, heh, this could actually be fun…_

Ranma explained what they knew about Akitsu's status, which made Uzume shake her head sadly, pulling the other Sekirei into a companionable hug, sad the other girl might never feel that special bond. Ranma finished by stating firmly, "And I sure as hell am **not** interested in a harem!"

"I did say that larger flocks would have an advantage didn't I Ranma?" Miya asked, shaking her head slightly as she looked between him and Uzume. "I know you might be able to match up against most Sekirei, but not all of them. There are a few who stand above the others, much like Akitsu apparently with her ice powers. If you couldn't close the range on her, could you beat Akitsu?"

Akitsu frowned at that, shifting uncomfortably but Ranma took her hand in his, squeezing it once before letting go as he answered Miya's question. "Maybe, we'll find out when we spar. And I think I could beat that water-using woman from the other night too. I'd certainly like to try, and like ya said if I close the range I don't think either of them could beat me."

"But that's only two examples, there are others, and in particular there is the Disciplinary Squad and the chief dog that leads them." Miya's face twisted into an expression that Ranma had never seen on it before and which made him rather uncomfortable, a look of utter loathing and hate. "Her name is Karasuba, and she is a sadistic combat junky of the first order. She's also easily the most powerful feather, and will not hesitate to kill you if she's ordered to, or if she can get away with it."

"I understand what you're saying Miya-nee, and I'll watch out, but I'm still gonna do what I want ta do." Ranma said firmly.

"I know, I just want you to be careful. And we will restart our training regimen tomorrow, since I'm afraid our discussion took overlong today." Miya said very firmly. "You'll stop by after school, and we will spar for two hours, after which I will make certain that you are doing your homework too. Don't think that you can use this as an excuse to get out of your school-work Ranma."

"Yes Miya-nee," Ranma said, smirking and actually bowing in place rapidly with each word, though inside he was practically giddy at taking up his training with her once more. "Of course Miya-nee, wouldn't dream of it Miya-neOUCH!"

Miya quickly put her ladle back into her skirt's sleeve, smirking at Ranma before looking over toward Akitsu as the air suddenly became cold. Just as she noticed that a small sliver of ice appeared in the air above her guest. It shattered immediately, Miya having withdrawn her weapon and sent a small barely visible shockwave at it before quickly putting her ladle back before any of her table companions could notice.

"Ara, ara, Akitsu-san, violence within Izumo House is **forbidden**." So saying Miya summoned up her hanya mask, the terror reaching out to the others at the table. Akitsu quickly began to twitch, shifting slightly to the side almost hiding behind her Ranma, overcome by the fear of the Hanya mask.

Ranma twitched a little, but that was all. Instead he leaned forward, pulling out his notebook. Seeing this Miya canceled the technique pouting slightly.

On Akitsu's other side Uzume shook her head, breathing deeply as the pressure of Miya's technique faded. "Balls of steel bro, seriously."

Miya stood up, still pouting lightly, but thankful she and Ranma had gotten through the serious discussion already. She had a lot more she could tell him about the Sekirei of course, but Ranma didn't seem all that interested, not after she had told him most of the Sekirei didn't have problems fighting one another. After that, while he still seemed worried about the nature of the bond, he was also excited at the idea of facing so many opponents and didn't seem to care about the larger issues.

"If we're done talking for now Ranma, let's be on our way."

"Huh, but Miya, someone here isn't changed to go out yet." Uzume said, then pulled out a water gun she'd bought that morning, shooting Ranma in the face with it before any of the other three could move. "There, all better. Damn, that still is just awesome to watch sis."

"You, you uncute tomboy!" Ranma growled, pulling her once again wet hair back from her eyes. "I will have my revenge for this you know."

"Uncute tomboy? Is that supposed to be an insult, come on bro, you can do better than that." Uzume sighed then yelped as she dodged to one side as Ranma leaped over the table, his fingers going for her sides twitching.

"Enough you two!" Miya sighed, wondering if she was going to regret allowing these two to meet. "Ranma, Uzume's right, you need to be in your female form for this, and Uzume, I think Ranma's having a bad enough time with his new body without people like you taking every opportunity you can to splash him like that."

Both of them nodded, looking suitably chastened though with similar glints in their eyes which made Miya sigh again. For some reason she just knew Uzume and Ranma were going to cause trouble down the line. "Now, we should get going, I think we need to head to one of the local malls..."

 **OOOOOOO**

"Ma'am Number 1 is on the move heading out of the no-spy zone. What should we do?"

Takami Sahashi, Chief Adjustor and all around troubleshooter for MBI and the Sekirei Plan in particular looked at the man who had spoken up irritably. "Why the hell is Miya leaving Izumo House?"

The man shuffled his feet under his boss's glare. "Um, unknown ma'am but we got some recordings of the Broken Sekirei heading towards the north with…"

The man next to him kicked him lightly under the table, glaring him into silence. President Minaka had told them to keep the redheaded unknown from Takami, and none of the techs wanted to get between the two of them.

His intervention came to late however, and Takami marched over to their stations. The man who that tried to stop his fellow from talking was laid out by a sudden slap from her metal clipboard to the back of the head. While he fell to the ground twitching, Takami twisted the chair of the man who had been speaking around, her heeled boot coming up to slam directly between his legs as she glared at him. "With, what or who exactly? And why wasn't I told about whatever it is?"

With Takami right in front of them and glaring the tech's fear for his job became much more personal. He stammered out about the unknown redheaded Sekirei that had appeared last night. When he was finished Takami glared at him, thinking hard. _An unknown Sekirei is patently impossible! As for a human male who can fight Mutsu of all the Sekirei to a standstill, well, no let's not make an assumption there, I'll look over the video footage myself. Matching Mutsu isn't the same thing as escaping him, still an impressive feat but not one to worry about._

 _Wait, need to deal with her possibly knowing Miya first. Our bargain with her won't let us record anything near Izumo House_ _ **or**_ _her, so… damn it._ "Shut down all the listening devices and video recorders around Number 1 in a quarter mile radius. If she finds out we're spying on her beyond following her power level, Number 1 may decide we're in violation of our agreement with her, and that's something we can't afford."

With the immediate problem solved, Takami turned to one of the communication techs. "You, have any messages been sent out today to the Ashikabi?" The response to that only made her angrier and she shook in place for a moment, her hands twitching. "Damn you Minaka. Alright here's what we're going to do, cut out all MBI sanctioned cameras."

As two techs leaped to carry out that order Takami turned to the rest of the room, pointing at one minion after another. "Hack into any local surveillance along the route Number 1 follows, get me a read on them I want half you morons on this ten seconds ago! I want confirmation that the Broken Sekirei and this redhead are with Number 1."

 _I'll figure out what it could mean later. It could be as easy as her taking in two more strays, fine and dandy so long as no one actually pokes the sleeping dragon. But if there's more to it, we need to find out now. Thank god Minaka's busy explaining the new facts of life to the various police chiefs etc. His particular brand of crazy would just make this mystery worse._

 **OOOOOOO**

"Master, it says here that the brunette has already been winged. The one with short tan s called a 'wild card' whatever that means." The girl speaking was tall with large earrings, black hair down to her shoulders and wore a punk rocker outfit.

The man she spoke to wore much the same, but his hair was bleached blond, and he had a tan to boot. "Hmm… but it doesn't say anything about the redhead having been winged yet?"

"No master, but, well look at this." The woman held out a phone to the man, who took it, never looking away from the quartet of women.

He stopped looking at them however when he noticed a young woman in a miko outfit enter the mall from another entrance, moving slowly but following the original quartet. Taking a moment, he looked down at the phone, and his eyes widened. "Okay, why the heck does that old lady have a picture here? And what's this, 'off-limits, avoid at all costs we **REALLY** mean it?' What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

The two fell silent, watching the quartet move toward a women's clothing store. The girl sighed, looking at some of the styles on display, causing the man to smirk lightly at her before one eyebrow rose in surprised when the redhead apparently panicked and tried to make a break for it. The attempt was stopped by the old lady, who took one arm while the winged brunette took her other arm, literally dragging the redhead into the lingerie store, with the tan-haired girl following behind them.

The tanned man stood there for a moment, his eyes moving around the mall then back to the store front before twitching over to the girl dressed in a miko outfit, and several other men, one his own age another slightly older who seemed to be following the quartet too. His smile slid from his face however when he saw a group of men dressed in suits and two obvious Sekirei, one with short hair and the other with long green hair, loitering just out of sight of the shop, each of them holding cell phones or tablets. "Fuck. Let's go Lin, this pot is getting a little too rich for my blood."

Lin nodded, and the two turned away, heading out of the mall quickly. "Still wonder about the old lady's picture being in there, and that weird message…"

 **OOOOOOO**

Inside the lingerie store Ranma looked at his older sister figure blankly as she held up the small flimsy silk bra towards her. Miya had somehow figured out her size without a tape measurer, but even so… "You have got to be kidding."

Miya's eyes narrowed slightly. "I believe we've already discussed your need for some coverage Ranma, and this is in your size too."

The redhead growled irritably. They had indeed agreed about this the day before. And the looks some of the men they had passed had given the redhead made her/his fists clench.

But now that it came to it, Ranma was definitely having second thoughts. "But Miya-nee, I've already told you that I've noticed how cold water seems attracted ta me, who's to say that the exact opposite won't happen if I wear something like that? Can you imagine how embarrassing that'd be if I turn into a guy while wearing a bra?"

"I've already agreed that you shouldn't wear panties for that very reason Ranma. But you were going to try to figure out a quick change technique weren't you? Or are you saying that you won't be able to?"

"I can learn an' create any martial arts technique you care to name!" Ranma said proudly, then paused smacking her forehead. "All right, I'll wear them, but not any of those frilly ones. Get me some of those what ya call them sport bras."

Miya smiled at him before putting the red lace bra that she had originally chosen down. Smart as he was at times, Ranma really didn't understand haggling. Miya had initially chosen that bra because she knew Ranma wouldn't go for it, and was willing to come down to the sport bras. But this way, it would look as if they had both compromised, rather than her simply laying down the law. "Now, we've gotten you a few blouses, all we need is an emergency change of uniform for when you're at school."

"I do **not** want to be a girl while I'm at school!" Ranma said holding up his arms to make an X. "With that Kuno character I met on my way here that's just asking for trouble."

"I realize that, and really if your last remonstration of him doesn't sink this supposed kendoist might need more… **corrective** methods to change his ways. But you still need to prepare for these things. Unless you want to admit to having your curse?"

As Ranma was trying to imagine what that could mean long term, the two of them were interrupted as Uzume came around the bend in the aisle holding out a set of underwear that made the pair Miya had shown him look plain in comparison. "Here Ranma try these on."

"GAH, no way!" Ranma said, backing away, looking as if he was going to bolt.

Not realizing why her master was feeling so afraid of the brunette, Akitsu, who had been following behind Ranma silently, stepped around her facing the other girl. Uzume grinned. "Ohoh, someone's eager for her turn. Well then come on Icy-chan, let's get you dolled up. When we're done with you bro here won't be able to control himself around you, I guarantee it."

"I think Akitsu-san would look better in traditional clothing than your normal so-called modern style Uzume, but if you wish to go first Akitsu-san you could have just said so." Miya said, looking at the silent Akitsu, who had cocked her head to one side as if thinking about Uzume's words.

For a moment Miya forgot about Ranma, who quickly took advantage of it, exiting the shop quickly. She was out the doorway before either woman noticed her absence. Sitting down on a nearby bench, Ranma groaned a little as her stomach made itself known, growling angrily. "Just put up with it a bit longer, Kasumi will have made dinner for us by the time we get back, don't worry."

"I hate to see a young lady go hungry," said a rather obese man from another nearby bench, startling Ranma slightly. "Would you like to eat something in the food court? My treat, merely being in the presence of such a beautiful young woman would be payment enough."

He smiled winningly at her, but Ranma frowned shaking her head. _Normally I'd be fine with the idea of free eats, but…_ "No thanks man."

The older man frowned a little both at her response and her attitude, then nodded and pushed himself to his feet, walking off quickly. Despite knowing that the redhead was a Sekirei free for the taking, he wasn't the sort to push his attention on anyone. Besides which, from his previous interaction with the Sekirei he'd already bonded with, if there had been any kind of spark it should have occurred the moment the redhead laid eyes on him. No, best to let this hunt go as a bad job.

Unfortunately for Ranma, others were not nearly so decent in their pursuit of Sekirei. Ranma found this minutes later. She had left the bench for a moment to find the nearest bathroom. As she walked back however, a man came out behind her form where he had been loitering in a small loading entrance to one of the stores built along the small crossway containing the bathroom.

Without any warning his hand clamped trying to pull her to one side. "What a babe! Pucker up and prepare for your destinEE!"

Before he could do more than tug on Ranma's shoulder Ranma had already broken his weak hold. By the time he realized that Ranma had grabbed his hand, and thrown the man over her shoulder. He crashed to the ground of the crossway, and before he could do more than grunt in pain, Ranma had reached down, grabbing him by the throat.

Turning to one side, Ranma slammed the man upside down into the wall. "What the hell man! Even I know you don't just go around kissing random girls!"

"L-let me down you bitch! You're not supposed to fight back! You're not a regular girl, you're a Sekirei, that means any guy who kisses you owns you!"

"What the hell?" Ranma reiterated shaking her head. "I'm no Sekirei you moron. I'm a martial artist! And anyone trying to kiss me like that is going to get their boy bits removed, understand?"

With that she let the boy dropped, watching him run off for a moment muttering about coming back with reinforcements, whatever that meant. Quickly walking back to the store Ranma paused as he saw Akitsu follow Uzume out of the changing area with Miya smiling slightly behind them. Akitsu now wore what looked like a combination of her original looks and Uzume's: tight jeans and a loose blouse. Uzume looked a little put out, while Miya was smiling that slight serene yet triumphant smile of hers, and Akitsu looked a little sad about something.

Deciding not to inquire what it happened, Ranma asked "Uzume, Miya-nee, you two have any idea why I just got 'attacked' by a man claiming that I'm a Sekirei?"

Miya's face nearly shut down at that while Akitsu's eyes noticeably hardened at the very idea of her Ashikabi-sama being attacked while she wasn't around. She quickly took her position beside and slightly behind Ranma, glaring around them in her own, unemotional way.

"Sorry bro, but I kind of… sort of… escaped before my release date." Uzume said sheepishly, scratching at her hair. "I don't have any direct link to MBI so I've no idea why people think you're a Sekirei other than your general martial arts skills. "Maybe someone saw your fight last night when ya rescued Icy-chan or helped blondie, and is making an assumption? Social media could spread that kind of thing really quick."

Ranma frowned but had to admit that point. He was still getting used to cell phones and communication being so useful after having spent so long in the boonies, but that didn't mean Uzume was wrong. I suppose that works. Anyway, let's get out of here, I feel like I've got a big target painted on my back for some reason."

Outside the mall, Ranma and Akitsu split off from Miya and Uzume, wishing to head home from there, since it was closer than Izumo House. Miya agreed they were done for the day, since she knew Ranma would be back the next day and she wanted to work on Akitsu's combat costume, the one item of apparel they couldn't get at the mall. She was irritated they hadn't covered all the subjects she had wished about Ranma's new form, but most of those would keep at least for a day, and seeing how twitchy Ranma had become she knew they had to call it a day anyway.

 **OOOOOOO**

"Ma'am, we've got footage showing Number 1 and #11 breaking off from the unknown number and the Broken Sekirei. Number 1 seems to be heading back north, while the others are heading on a course to the Nerima district, where we lost them last night."

Takami nodded, frowning thoughtfully even as she breathed a sigh of relief. No one had been stupid enough to start something in a public place other than that one idiot who ambushed the redhead, so the odds of Miya lashing out had just decreased dramatically, which was all to the good. The redhead's violent response to the moron however was a little worrying if she really was a Sekirei, though Takami still wondered how that could be possible without her knowing about it. "The moment they are a single block away from Number 1 I want our cameras and audio pickups back online. If anything goes down I want to see it."

"Oh Takami-chan you look as if you're having fun! Whatever has happened in my absence?" Minaka said as he slid into the room flopping onto the chair in the direct center of the control room, which he called his 'throne'.

Before he could finish sitting down however, Takami's clipboard smashed him in the side of the head, sending him sprawling. "I've been cleaning up your fucking mess as usual you freaking madman! What the hell were you thinking, siccing the Ashikabi on that unknown redhead when we have no idea where she came from?! Did you know she might be connected to Miya!?"

Minaka paled slightly before regaining his equilibrium with the ease of the truly mad, but before he could answer his ex-wife's accusations, one of the techs spoke up. "Um, ma'am, sir, we've got several fights going on right now…"

"What?" Takami asked, blinking as she turned aside, only to groan as she stared at the screen that man and a few others were looking at. They were the hacked feeds from the video cameras on the rooftops around the mall. It appeared as if several Sekirei and Ashikabi pairs had broken off following the broken Sekirei and the unknown redhead to fight it out amongst themselves. After only a moment's glance there seemed to be at least four or five different Ashikabi represented there, including the two currently known as the most powerful, Mikogami and Higa.

While Takami rubbed her face and worried about the collateral damage this was causing so early in the plan, Minaka merely laughed aloud. "My, what wonderful chaos, and all of it merely a side effect of a little message? I might have to send out other such messages to keep the game lively." Takami turned to glare at him, but Minaka ignored her, turning his attention on a few other techs. "Still, that is no reason to lose sight of the prize, can you pull up current footage of the redhead? I have no doubt she's somewhere nearby…"

 **OOOOOOO**

Jumping up to the rooftops Ranma and Akitsu were several blocks away from the mall when they stopped, turning around at the sound of combat coming from behind them. Ranma frowned, wondering if he should head back and see what was going on, but then suddenly smirked, turning his head sideways. "Yo, you can come out now, I know you're there! How long've you two been following us?"

"Not long Red, we were just waiting until you both were well away from any bystanders to confront you. We didn't think you knew we were here though." Said a voice. Two women came out from behind a AC box built into the rooftop to one side of the route Ranma and Akitsu had been following.

Both of them were tall, slightly taller than Ranma would be in his male form, which meant they were more than a foot taller than his female form. They both had black hair done up in ponytails and hazel eyes, and even their faces were alike enough to show they were twins. One of them had a bust larger than Akitsu, who was in turn bustier than Ranma's female form, while the other's bust was smaller than Ranma's.

The busty one was wearing a black suit, the other a purple one. If Ranma was a worldlier fellow he/she might have thought they looked like bondage suits. As it was Ranma felt they looked like a cross between a leotard and a female RPG villain's outfit.

Ranma stared at them, shaking her head at their outfits, fighting down a faint blush. _Damn, is every Sekirei good looking, or have I just lucked out so far?_ "All right, so what do you want from me?"

"We don't really want anything from you, but you see you're an un-winged Sekirei, and we want to make sure you stay that way. So why don't you just stay right there and let us put you out of the game?" Replied the bustier one. At the last word a bolt of lightning shot from her outstretched hand towards Ranma.

He dodged to one side quickly, though he needn't have bothered. A wall of ice sprang into being immediately between them taking the attack. To Ranma's side Akitsu strode forward. The ice shattered under the bolt of lightning, but Akitsu was prepared, and the pieces of ice didn't touch the ground before she hurled them forwards.

When she spoke there was none of the normal hesitation in her voice, her words coming out crisp and clear. "You will not harm Ranma-sama."

"Hikari, isn't that…" said the heretofore quiet girl in purple, pulling at her sister's shoulder.

"Hell, if you want to be knocked out of the game now, that's fine by me Broken one!" Hikari replied, and the two of them began to return fire, small bolts of lightning shooting out of their hands towards Akitsu, who conjured up more ice, blocking their attacks with ease.

They should have kept their attention on Ranma too however because by this point he had closed the distance between them. The as yet unintroduced girl turned to her, a leg coming up in a decent kick, but it was telegraphed just a bit too much to surprise the charging redhead. Instead Ranma leaped up over it, using it as a springboard to lash out with her own kick that caught the purple-wearing twin in the face.

"Gah!" She grunted, but to Ranma's surprise she moved with the blow, coming back around and throwing out another rising kick that segued into a whole series of kicks and punches. None of them landed of course, but it was certainly a better show than most of the girls from the other night had given. "Be careful Hikari, the redhead's a fist type!"

"The name is Ranma, what's your's, or should I just call ya Purple? And what the heck are you wearing? Ya look like a female villain from Final Fantasy or something." Ranma said, before catching one of her hands in his, redirecting a small bolt of lightning away from him. His other hand lashed out in a punch that caught the girl in the shoulder.

Again however the girl moved with the blow, avoiding much of the force. Not much, it still deadened her arm, but enough to keep moving backwards rather than be flung aside like Ranma had intended. And she even had the breath to reply to Ranma's questions. "I'm Hibiki, that's Hikari, and um, as for the outfits, well we have to wear rubber since our powers sometimes go haywire in a fight, and um, these were designed by our Ashikabi, so…"

Ranma dodged another lightning blast, looking over at the other battle, noticing that Hikari was attempting to close the range with Akitsu. Not knowing how Akitsu was at hand to hand yet, Ranma flipped herself away from a last punch from Hibiki, landing in front of Hikari, her fists lashing out quicker than most humans would be able to follow. "Switch off Akitsu!"

While Hikari stumbled under the sudden assault, barely getting her hands up to defend, Akitsu complied with Ranma's order, turning her ice powers on Hibiki. Hibiki was still concentrating on Ranma however, trying to track his movements with her lightning, and never even saw the attack coming. "UGH!" One moment she was throwing a series of small lightning bolts after Ranma the next she was smashed backwards into the AC she and her sister had been hiding behind, frozen there.

"Hibiki!" Hikari shouted, turning towards her for just a second, her defense faltering.

Ranma's next blow caught her on the chin, throwing her backwards to skid across the rooftop on her rear. Hikari saw stars, shaking her head to clear it from the power of the blow. Before she could right herself, Ranma was straddling her chest, her legs on either side of Hikari's body, her fist flashing down.

Hikari closed her eyes, waiting for oblivion, only to open them a second later when the blow didn't come. Instead she felt a poke on her forehead, and looked up into the redhead's smirk. "We win."

"You're not going to end it?"

"Nope, don't feel like it, besides the idea of knocking you out of the game doesn't interest me. Though I have to say, for twins your teamwork sucks." Ranma pushed off the other girl, moving to stand by Akitsu, who continued to look at the lightning duo warily.

"Ugh, shut up," Hikari grumbled, pushing herself to her feet before going over to her sister, shattering the ice holding her in place with difficulty. "First you beat us and now you insult us too."

"We're too used to facing a single opponent at a time sister." Hikari said, shivering and leaning against her sister for warmth.

"Yeah well, not to rub it in or anything, but why exactly do you think I'm a Sekirei?" Ranma asked. "The last douchebag who thought that didn't say, and he wasn't the sort I wanted to hand around longer than the time it took to kick his ass."

"Seriously? Well besides your physical skills which just, you know, allowed you to beat us like we were inexperienced punks, something no human could do, there was a message sent out by MBI about a redhead just being released 'free for the taking'." Hibiki replied, actually holding up her fingers to make quote marks for the last three words.

"Huh, so it came from MBI itself huh, good to know, might have ta think about some way to get back at them for that. As to the rest though, I am not a Sekirei, I'm human, my skills come from sweat, blood and ten plus years of hard work." _And training with Miya, but I don't want to share that right now._ "I've been around a lot of Asia and let me tell you, there are dozens of humans out there that could fight you Sekirei like I do."

Shaking her head, Ranma was about to turn away, leaving the two twins there only stopping as she noticed that one of their attacks seemed to have ruptured a small water heater on the roof beside the one they had been fighting on. Steam was rising from a bit of water escaping from the ruptured tank, and she sighed in relief, eager to change back to his real body.

"Besides, I doubt you alien types have any members that can change their bodies with the touch of water." So saying, Ranma leaped across, and splashed herself with the water, sighing with pleasure as he returned to his male body. _My shoulders always feel stiff if I spend more than an hour in female form, stupid breasts._

Turning back he saw Akitsu had followed him, holding their bags. The twins however were staring at him in shock. "Wh, what the hell!" they both shouted, the heretofore quite one nearly as loud as her sister. "How the hell, what just happened?!"

"Maaagiiicccc." Ranma drawled, before turning aside, facing the direction he and Akitsu had come from, going on in a louder voice. "Sorry if I don't want to give you any more details, but this is my normal form. So all the Ashikabi out there are out of luck, I don't like dudes, and the next guy who tries to kiss me is gonna regret it."

"D-duly noted," said a male voice from that direction, a hand appearing around a sloped roof though the speaker, a young, somewhat rough sounding man, kept out of view. "Gonna have some nightmares now, no lie."

Ranma barked a laugh then shook his head. "Come on Akitsu, I've had enough of Tokyo proper for now." So saying, Akitsu and Ranma sped off over the roofs, leaving more than a few watchers wondering what the hell they had just seen.

 **OOOOOOO**

Takami stared at the computer screen, then her eyes rolled back in her skull as she fainted dead away, her analytical mind unable to deal with Ranma's change. All around her a few of the techs were gibbering quietly to themselves or otherwise reacting very negatively to the phenomenon they had just witnessed.

Beside her however, Minaka stared at the screen, then began to laugh maniacally. "Oh what fun this will be!"

 **End Chapter**

* * *

Above and beyond not starting this chapter before ATP28 was done and off to the beta reader, this chapter fought me the entire way. I had trouble getting into the Sekirei universe, and when I did, I just wasn't able to get most of the character interactions precisely the way I wanted to, and lost a bit of the plot I wanted in this chapter. For that reason I have removed this story as an option for the September poll **(which is up, go vote)**. I won't say I am dropping this story, but I need to have a serious sit down with my Sekirei muse and the accompanying fanfic section to see if I can feed said muse before coming back to it.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Sekirei or Ranma. The one would have a better plot, the other a better female lead… actually those are kind of interchangeable for a given amount of both.

This work and Horse For the Force won this month's poll, and while some aspects of the Horse chapter is giving me issues, I thought to put this out now rather than wait to put both out at once.

This chapter brings back the ecchi, so you're hereby warned.

This chapter is dedicated to Anime Adventure. Alas I knew you well, but did not think to save anything from your bounty. DAMN IT.

* * *

 **Game Changer 4 Pissing People Off is An Art**

As they were hopping home, Ranma frowned thinking hard about how to get back at MBI. _I don't care that it's a big company, I don't care about why they thought I was a Sekirei, sending guys on me out kiss me like that, it's gotta be paid for. And my old man has trained me a lot of stealth techniques over the years... I wonder why he's always hinting that there was one more technique he would never teach me?_

Shrugging that thought off before he could go down that all-too-familiar tangent Ranma paused for a moment, staring down at a hardware store. Then he began to smirk evilly but he continued on his way before Akitsu could question him about it. They were soon at the Tendo dojo, hopping over the outer wall as Ranma shouted, "We're back."

Kasumi came out onto the patio smiling at them both. "Welcome back, and I see you managed to pick up the groceries this time," she gently teased. "I'm grateful, as I said earlier, feeding the two of you and your father Ranma will take far more food than I keep on hand."

"Yeah, I know. If it were up to me we'd move in with Miya but I don't think my old man would go for that for many reasons."

 _Not least of which is the fact that he's rightly scared of her, and he really does seem hung up on this whole uniting the school thing,_ Ranma thought. _Still, I have to say that it seems to have done Soun at least a world of good. And who knows, maybe eventually Soun will be able to remember how to do some of the techniques from his branch of the school and I'll_ _ **learn**_ _something._

Genma chose that moment to come out as well, and he frowned at his son. "You've been in a fight," he stated taking in Ranma's slightly rumpled appearance. His eyes flicked over to Akitsu. "Her too."

"I told you there're a lot of weird martial artists around here, Oyaji, oh, I was able ta find out a bit more of the story about Akitsu and them too. I'd like Nabiki's take on it though, she seems the most analytically minded of us all. Is she here?"

"I'm afraid not, she went over to a friend's house to help her study for something. Despite her extracurricular activities, Nabiki is still in the high 99th percentile at Furinkan" Kasumi said with a certain amount of pride.

"Gotcha," Ranma nodded. "And ta answer your question Oyaji we ran into a few other Sekirei, these two chicks who used lightning attacks of all things. It's pretty obvious that the Sekirei are able to use element attacks far more easily than they've got any right to. I'm beginning to think that they're the equivalent of blood-based family technique."

Genma grunted irritably, then shook his head. "If that's true, then it's true. But we won't learn anything until we can figure out what we're actually seeing in their ki when they make those element attacks boy."

Ranma nodded agreement that, then patted his rumbling stomach. "I don't suppose we're in time for dinner?"

"You're just in time in fact, why don't you both get washed up, and I'll finish putting out the food?" Kasumi laughed. "Honestly, bottomless pits the three of you.

Inside Akane, who for some reason was dressed in her gi, looked up as Ranma and Akitsu sat down frowning at them both but shaking it off after a moment. She wasn't used to other people being around the house, and she couldn't say she liked Ranma all that much. But she didn't want to jump to conclusions again like she had that morning, despite her instincts screaming that all boys had to be perverts. Instead she asked, "After dinner would you be up for a match Ranma?"

Pausing in the motion of sitting down Ranma cocked his head frowning. "Why? I thought we already had a match."

"Yeah but maybe this time you won't just hop around! Maybe you'll take me seriously!" Akane replied sharply.

Ranma's eyes narrowed at her tone, but he answered readily. "That's my martial arts style, move all the time, take to the air as often as possible, don't ever take a hit unless you really have to. And let's face it Akane, you're nowhere near my level." Akane's teeth ground noticeably at that, and he shook his head. "You can't just hop to the top you know, you have to work for it."

He suddenly smiled, touching Akitsu her shoulder, blushing lightly when she leaned into the touch. "Why don't you and Akitsu have a match instead? Just hand-to-hand, no special powers."

Akitsu turned to him, cocking her head to one side as Akane smirked, nodding her head in agreement. If the witch couldn't use her powers, then she was just a normal girl and Akane was the strongest girl in Nerima after all.

"Just because you are distance fighter doesn't mean you shouldn't trained in hand-to-hand Akitsu," Ranma said sternly at Akitsu's look. "What if someone closes the range on you, or is too fast for you to hit with your ice attacks? Unless you're telling you can tell you can actually freeze other people solid quickly it's still a danger."

That made too much sense, and Akitsu simply nodded. "Will you teach me Ranma-sama?" she said after a moment.

Smiling as he realized that Akitsu actually hadn't hesitated before speaking Ranma nodded. "Yep, both of us can train over at Miya's place. But training with Akane now will give me an idea of where you are and what you need to improve. Speaking of which Pops, remember what I said Miya wants to see you. We didn't have a match today, but she says she can tell that I've improved, and wants to talk about your training."

Again this faint praise did the trick, and he watched as Genma noticeably puffed up for a moment before nodding. "I already said I'd agree to meet her boy, leave off." He frowned then. "But I was serious too, Soun and I do need to go on a training trip, his counsel duties take up too much of his time, and has made him too soft." He then flicked his eyes over to Akane almost dismissively but not quite. "Once Soun gets back in shape girl, then we'll see to yours. But I like the idea of you two training together, it could be interesting."

"Indeed Akane," her father said speaking out for the first time and putting down some paperwork he had been looking over. "One should always take the opportunity to train against more opponents. I've heard of your training sessions at school with that Kuno boy and with the various martial arts clubs, but group tactics can only take you so far, and training against weak opponents won't make you any stronger. Sometimes losing is the best teacher."

 _And the sententious father up of the year award goes to…_ Ranma thought sardonically, exchanging a glance with Kasumi who smiled, rolling her eyes lightly when she saw his smirk. Normally Kasumi wouldn't share so much of her inner thoughts, but Ranma and Akitsu had wormed their way under her normal armor of airiness.

Almost as soon as the meal began Ranma and Genma both shouted "Match On!" Their chopsticks flashed smacking into one another in midair over the food, both the chopsticks and the hands that held them moving faster than most at the table could see. The noise of their meeting however, the sharp clacks and smacks were easily discernable.

Akane was the first to come out of her shock. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Speed training, everything can be turned into training girl, and we've been slacking since we arrived here!" Genma grunted, then grunted again as Ranma smacked his chopstick up high enough for his own to swoop down and grab a bit of rice. "Oh no you don't boy!"

When Kasumi spoke her voice was far more like Nabiki's Ice Queen tone then her father or youngest sister had ever heard from her. "I do not think the table is the proper place for speed training. It is most disrespectful to the food and to the one who prepared it to eat it so quickly after all, irrespective of the noise and disruption to the rest of us. If you wish to continue to use it as such please tell me, and I will stop setting out food for you at the table and instead make up two meals more fit for animals than people."

The chopsticks stopped in midair, and both combatants turned to her, their eyes wide and horrified. Ranma was the first to stop pulling back and eating slowly from his own rice bowl for a second, before bowing his head in apology to Kasumi. Genma seemed about to take advantage of this weakness, but caught Kasumi's glare and decided a life of bamboo loomed in his future if he didn't desist. With a Harumph he did so, grumbling occasionally even so.

Seeing this, Kasumi's glare disappeared, and she smiled sunnily at Ranma. "Now, Ranma, why don't you tell me about the best meal you had while abroad."

The rest of the dinner was dominated by a discussion between Ranma and Kasumi. Kasumi was interested in the different foods that Ranma and Genma had tried on their training journey, as well as delicately asking Ranma and Genma if they were willing to get jobs to help around the house.

Genma actually surprised Ranma by agreeing to get a part-time job, and had even lined one up already at the local doctor's office, mostly as a delivery person and general help around good office. "What he really needs is someone to bring in computers and some kind of system to organize his files." Genma said, which caused Ranma to laugh. "Mock all you want boy, and I'll be the first to admit I don't know the first thing about computers, but they are important for organizing names, and um, and stuff like that. He has books and books of files that all could be put on computers."

Ranma nodded at that, though he was still smirking at Genma who turned away with a harrumph sound, and Ranma turned to Kasumi. "I've already talked to Nabiki about getting a job, and she says she might be able line some small time stuff up for me, but we need to talk about that too. With whatever is going on with the Sekirei and MBI I don't want to get a full-time job but I can at least bring in some cash for the house."

From there the conversation segued into Nerima and what was going on there, with Soun actually leading the discussion for the most part. As a Nerima council member he knew more about the district than even Kasumi, who was rather a homebody, though not by preference, something none of her family seemed to realize. Hearing stories about Ranma and Genma's travels however seemed to put a smile on her face.

After dinner Ranma helped Kasumi cleanup, while Akane, Akitsu and the two fathers trooped into the dojo **.**

Genma stood in the center of the dojo, one hand raised. He looked at both girls, who nodded, though Akitsu noticeably waited until Akane did the same, seemingly not understanding how to signal that she was ready. Nonetheless she did so, and he stepped back smartly. "Start!"

Akane was the first to make a move, charging forward, her hands held in close to her upper body before thrusting out of punch but and then segueing into a triple combo to kicks with one punch. Watching this Genma frowned noting that the girls balance was horrible. _But at least she knows how to throw a punch accurately._

Across from her Akitsu waited until Akane had thrown the first punch then smacked it to one side, returning her own punch but nearly getting her head taken off by Akane's follow-on kick, seemingly not having seen it coming. For her part however Akane was nearly spun around by the block to her arm, but came back with a stronger punch to the face that Akitsu barely ducked.

Frowning Akitsu jumped away, landing 20 feet away from Akane as she frowned. _I have to fight my instincts here, this is supposed to be a hand-to-hand match, I cannot use my ice. What would my Ashikabi do?_ _Analyze my opponent, look for weaknesses,_ she decided after a moment spent jumping away from Akane every time the blue haired girl closed on her.

For her part Akane was getting angrier and angrier. Why would these people not stand still! "Stop running away!" she shouted, thrusting forward with another straight punch.

"….Why? I do not want to get hit." Akitsu asked after a second of silent thought. Her voice was her normal one, making what she said a simple question rather than a sarcastic comment.

Nonetheless, it served to fuel Akane's anger, and she charged forward once more. "Stop making fun of me and fight!"

"…I am not making fun of you, I simply do not want to get hit." Akitsu said, again after taking a moment to think her way through what to say. Away from Ranma her normal hesitant manner of speech seemed to come back, but not as strong as it had been. Her hands came up quickly, smacking Akane's thrusting arm aside again, her leg coming up in a straight kick which drove into Akane with all the power of a pile driver.

She had telegraphed the move so much that Akane was able to get one hand down between her body and the blow, catching her foot and moving backwards with the blow. Her free hand grabbed onto Akitsu's leg, flipping the other girl away to land awkwardly on the ground. Akitsu however rolled with it, so when Akane charged forward, she met a hard palm thrust to the chest, which she didn't see coming. It knocked her breath out and would leave a bruise, but it wasn't enough to stop her charge.

She returned a punch to the shoulder that threw Akitsu back, but had to roll away from another kick. The Sekirei of Ice frowned, moving her shoulders slightly as Akane backed away for a second, circling to Akitsu's left. _She is strong, not as strong as a hand-to-hand Sekirei would be I think, but still stronger than most humans. Stronger than me I have to say_ , Akitsu set frowned at that thought _. My Ashikabi-sama is right, I need to train in this._

By the time that thought finished percolating through Akitsu's mind Akane charged again. This time Akitsu moved to meet her, but she was still telegraphing her moves too much, and eventually the exchange ended, with Akane bringing up a knee into Akitsu's side before twisting away from a return blow grabbing the taller girl's arm and hurling her over her shoulder to slam back first into the ground.

Akitsu quickly raised her free hand to block the punch coming towards her head, but Genma shouted, "That's enough! Akane wins."

As Akane slowly backed away from her downed opponent, Genma shook his head. "My son was correct, you rely on your powers too much Akitsu, you're very fast which is good, and you've got decent enough strength and instincts. I suppose we can work with those."

He looked over to Soun, one eyebrow raised and Soun sighed softly. "Akane," the mustachioed man said formally. "Your strength is very good, but your form needs a **lot** of work. We'll start working on that immediately tomorrow, even as I am we can still work on that, though it will be painful…" He nearly sniffled for a moment, but flinched as his friend made to punch him in the arm and went on quickly. "Your anger however, **that** needs a lot of work. You can't allow your opponent's attitude or words to rattle you as you did. We'll start working on that eventually as well, but your stance and your balance will be the first things."

Surprisingly his daughter didn't take this criticism as badly as he had feared. She simply nodded, smiling brightly and stretching for a moment. "That's great daddy, but I think I'm going to go get a bath now." She sent Akitsu a smirk then left quickly, secure in the knowledge that she was still the strongest girl in Nerima. _Well natural girl anyway,_ she thought as she exited, her thoughts souring slightly as Ranma passed her by.

Ranma spent a few moments talking to Akitsu and Genma and Soun about the match, then the two so-called adults left to play a game of shogi and Ranma looked at Akitsu. "Why don't you go get a bath Akitsu, you look like that match made you work up a sweat."

"Will you be bathing as well Ranma-sama?" she asked.

Ranma blushed again. "What've I told you about that Akitsu? We haven't known each other long enough to, to bathe together like that." Akitsu frowned, but Ranma went on quickly. "Besides, I have a little errand I want to do."

"I will come with you then," she said promptly, moving to his side and looking at him expectantly.

But Ranma again shook her head his head. "Sorry Akitsu, not this time. You can sneak up on me for some reason, but you're not actually good at stealth normally, and this is a stealthy job." Ranma chuckled evilly, rubbing his hands together. "Sick a bunch of hormonal pervs on me will you? We'll see about that."

Akitsu sighed but nodded, and Ranma patted her head. "I'll see ya when I get back, okay? Unless you're asleep, if you're tired go to sleep." He said after a seconds thought remembering how devoted Akitsu was to him. _She really needed more positive reinforcement._ He watched as Akitsu leaned into his hand for a moment, her manner drooping lightly when he took his hand away.

After another few moments chivvying Akitsu to the bath Ranma left quickly. Stopping in at the paint store he bought several dozen cans worth of various colored paints, which he balanced easily in his arms as he took to the rooftops again. He was close to Tokyo proper, the central area of the city, when he spotted Uzume sitting on a rooftop nearby. Seeing her body language even from here he paused, then moved in that direction. He crouched down next to her, poking her shoulder. "Hey Uzume."

The brunette nearly shrieked in surprise almost falling off the roof, and Ranma had to actually drop some of the paint cans for a moment to grab the back of her shirt and hold her steady before she could regain her balance. "Dammit Ranma! Don't sneak up on a girl like that!"

"I didn't sneak up on you, I just walked up to you or hopped up to you in this case." Ranma laughed, before sending a frown the brunette's way. "Something wrong? Did some asshole come after you after we left the mall?"

"Nothing like that Ranma, it's nothing, nothing you can help me with anyway." said Uzume, frowning and looking away. Doing so Uzume caught sight of the paint and cocked her head quizzically. "If those are for Izumo House I have to tell you that Miya really won't like those colors together. Red and purple? No chance."

"Oh they ain't for that," Ranma laughed, an evil sort of chuckle that made Uzume's eyebrows rise and a smirk appear on her face. "You remember those morons they were trying to kiss me or whatever at the mall? Well apparently MBI sent out a message saying that I was a Sekirei. Now that's just not right y'know, so I figure I need to pay them back somehow."

Uzume looked from him to the paint and back again, her smile widening as she did. "Can I help?"

"I don't know, how good's your stealth?"

 **OOOOOOO**

Miya looked up from where she was sitting on her patio drinking tea and staring up at the sky as Uzume and Ranma appeared over the top of the outer wall. Not having expected Ranma back tonight, Miya frowned lightly and stood up slowly.

As soon as they touched down Uzume broke out into loud laughter, her entire body shaking as she fell to her knees pounding the ground. "Damn bro!" She shouted between laughs, "Just damn! It's a little childish, but Jesus is it funny! B-but how the hell did we get away with it!"

Ranma shrugged. "It's late, and you'd be surprised how few people actually look out their windows even during the day. And even less people look up. Once we were on the side of the building, it was pretty easy. Though I have to say thanks, I don't think I'd've been able to complete the entire design as quickly as we did without your help."

"No problem, bro." Uzume said, pulling him into a firm one-armed hug which Ranma returned with a laugh. "Seriously, if you ever want to do something like that again look me up, I haven't had this much fun in months!"

Miya blinked sitting back down abruptly, simply staring at them. _Good grief there's two of them and they're bad influences on one another._ "Do one of you want to fill me in on what you did?" she asked, not certain she wanted to know but feeling compelled to ask.

When told she simply blinked, then shook her head. "I, I honestly don't…What I should do is probably smack you with my ladle for being perverted, but on the other hand it is rather appropriate." She narrowed her eyes at them both, pointing an accusing finger at one and the other. "You two are bad influences on one another, and you're both bad influences on me!"

Ranma and Uzume looked at one another, then through their arms around one another again and leaned forward, both of them going into their version of the puppy dog eye attack. "But Miya-nee!"

Miya took one look at them and shuddered, turning away quickly. "Enough with the cuteness!" She sighed, shaking her head. "It's getting late Ranma, you should return to the Tendo Dojo."

Ranma sighed but nodded, squeezing Uzume around the shoulders once more before turning and with the final thanks to her and a promise to return tomorrow after school to Miya hopped away. Uzume looked after him still grinning, before turning to Miya. Sitting down next to her, Uzume leaned her head against the older woman's shoulder for a brief moment. "Damn, he is a lot of fun!"

Miya chuckled, pushing the girl away playfully. "Bad influences the both of you."

"Too right! Life's too short to be all gloom and doom."

"And with the two of you around it never will be." Miya said, trying to sound as if she was sad about that and failing miserably.

 **OOOOOOO**

The next day Takami got up, having slept through the night after having fallen comatose from watching Ranma's curse activate and she got up determined to just have a few hours of normality before tackling that issue. _But…_ her treacherous mind began, _where does the mass go, how does it convert, is it a full change, is he fully functional in both forms?_

"Enough!" she shouted to her empty bedroom. "Enough. I will have a few hours of normality brain! Besides," she said as she splashed her face with some water, "we have a dozen adjustments to get started, and two more Sekirei to release tonight. One of those adjustments I need to do personally, no way am I letting anyone else adjust Ku-chan!"

Takami nearly growled at the thought of the youngest Sekirei, angry Minaka hadn't listened to her diatribe about letting her out to join the game. "'All the wings must be released Takami-chan, that's the whole point of the Game' my ass!" It took a moment for Takami to control herself, but she went on much more calmly. "She needs to retain a lot more of her strength than the older Sekirei's do. Or else she'll just be a victim."

Walking through the office corridors a moment later Takami frowned as she saw people rushing towards the elevator or the stairs. Grabbing one of them she asked, "What's going on, some emergency drill or something?"

"Nothing like that Ms." said the man, an accountant she thought, not recognizing the man but his lurid purple tag marked him out as one of that particularly irritating group of Minaka's flunkies. "But there's something going on outside, something's wrong with the building. Nothing dangerous, just some kind of graffiti or something. No one's saying what, but there's a lot of well laughing and exclamations going on I suppose and everyone's leaving to check it out."

Takami frowned, but followed the man outside, pushing her way through using elbows and clipboard to smack people aside. By the time she was outside a lot of the other people were as well, including all three members of the Disciplinary Squad and even their Ashikabi.

That part wasn't official yet, he'd only actually kissed Benitsubasa so far, but the others were reacting to Natsuo if only slightly just at the moment. That would change over the next few days as he interacted with them of course.

She wasn't surprised that whatever was making most of the crowd laugh was making Haihane break down entirely. She always tended to overreact to things she found funny, and she had a very odd sense of humor. The fact that Karasuba was also chuckling however was a bit of a surprise.

Finally was able to see the side of the building itself, and immediately she gaped in shock.

The first thing to hit her was the words. 'Minaka is an overcompensating prick'. Then the actual image began to percolate, someone had drawn a giant, if extremely crude, prick around the words taking up more than half the tower.

For a moment she was simply stunned, and the first thing that came out of her mouth wasn't a comment on what she was seeing, but the message itself. "Well, that is kind of true after all."

For a moment the people around her hadn't actually heard, except for Karasuba who turned to her with a smirk and a knowledgeable nod then the others turned, as if they couldn't believe that had left Takami's mouth. Realizing what she actually said Takami glared all around her and pointed dramatically hoping to take their attention off what she'd just said. "How did this happen!?" It might have been a very common rumor that she and Minaka had been involved years, but that was a different thing entirely from actually acknowledging it. "Where are the night security guards!?"

"None of them saw anything," Karasuba said with another chuckle. "Of course, they're supposed to guard the entrance and the interior of the building, not watch the exterior walls. And after all, this wasn't exactly a threat was it? It was evidently a message, and as you pointed out, it **is** true."

"Why aren't you taking this seriously!? If someone could do this, couldn't they like plant a bomb or something?" shouted Benitsubasa.

She wilted noticeably as Karasuba turned to her, her eyes once again narrowed to their normal slits. "Be quiet, your jabbering irritates me."

One other person was of course aware of what had happened by this point. Minaka stared thoughtfully out over his city, then down at his defamed tower. "Somehow, I just know that that little redhead is behind this. Someone needs to learn who the real game master is it seems." Despite his mannerisms Minaka was not a man to allow others to make fun of him like this. "But how to go about it?"

 **OOOOOOO**

"Wake up boy, I said wake up!"

His father's voice percolated slowly into Ranma's mind while at the same time he felt something against his side as he stirred. "What's up old man, you'd normally just toss me out the window or throw somethin' at me."

Wiping at his eyes Ranma looked down and was not really surprised to find Akitsu had snuck in during the night, curling up against his side. She wasn't holding onto him as tightly as the evening before, but that was because he was holding on to her, a fact that almost made him jolt out of the bed, his other hand flying up quickly from where it had been around her side. But Akitsu's hold on his other arm held him still. "Still sleepy," she muttered, nuzzling into his shoulder.

"Um, but I still have to wake up Akitsu. You can keep sleeping if you want but I have school remember?" Ranma said quietly, trying to extricate himself.

Standing at the foot of the bed Genma shook his head. "If she's going to keep doing this, we will have to start training after dinner rather than before breakfast. I refuse to cut back on your training boy."

"Not a problem Oyaji," Ranma said, smirking slightly as he extricated himself from the waking Akitsu. "And Akitsu, what did I say about sneaking in here?"

"You are my Ashikabi-sama," she said stubbornly, her mouth twitching slightly into her version of a scowl. "And I sleep better with you."

Ranma scowled at that shaking his head. "Uggh, again with the Ashikabi and -sama stuff Akitsu?" He stared at her, taking in her stubborn appearance, the fact that she still had a hold of his hand and sighed. "All right, if Kasumi says you can sleep in here with me, you can, but realize that's all we'll be doing okay? Just sleeping." _Hah, and if I read her right no way Kasumi'll say anything of the sort!_

The stubborn feeling around her faded quickly and Akitsu nodded, her face once again almost but not quite unemotional, a faint uptick of her lips signifying her smile. Ranma rolled his eyes. "Come on if you're up now let's go downstairs."

As the two of them followed Genma down, they heard a voice behind them. "Coooooffffffeeeeee."

Ranma turned, and saw Nabiki at the top of the stairs stumbling down. Her eyes were closed, her hair frazzled, and her loose shirt was nearly falling off much to his blushing embarrassment. She looked as if she had just rolled out of bed, and needed about six or seven more hours of sleep to become fully human.

A second later Nabiki bumped into him as he stood there, muttering 'coffee' under her breath, seemingly on complete autopilot. "Heh, Akitsu, could you help Nabiki down the stairs? I'll go get her some coffee she looks as if she's going to hurt herself if she keeps on moving like that."

Akitsu nodded, quickly putting an arm between the two of them and pulling Nabiki to her. There was a little flash of jealousy for a moment in her eyes but it was gone before Ranma could notice it.

Entering the kitchen, Ranma looked around. "Hey Kasumi, do you have any coffee?"

Kasumi looked up from where she was cooking, nodding her head over to the pot. "It's over there. I normally have a cup already out and waiting for Nabiki on the small table in the upper hall between her room and Akane's, but with the three of you here it's taking me a little bit to get used to how much time it takes to cook."

"In that case, Akitsu can sleep in your room and you can get her up to help, that'll kill two birds with one stone," Ranma said with a grin, explaining how the woman in question had snuck into his bed again. "She keeps on trying to sleep in our room, but that's just not right, especially seeing as she tries to kick off her clothing doing it. My old man might die of blood loss if she actually succeeds one night."

"True, and I'd like the company in the evening it must be said," Kasumi mused, putting another checkmark next to Ranma's name. _He might be too young for my tastes, but he is a gentleman, if lacking in manners and prospects. He and Akane would get along like oil and water, but Nabiki might actually be a better match for him, if, that is Akitsu doesn't wrap him around her little finger first._

Taking the coffee mug, Ranma joined Akitsu and Nabiki at the bottom of the stairs, the girl having stumbled several times with only Akitsu saving her from a fall. Waving the coffee mug under Nabiki nose he watched as life began to flicker in her face. Then her hand moved faster than even Ranma could see, and was suddenly holding the coffee mug, drinking it in long gulps, seemingly not even feeling the heat of it. "Wow Nabiki, you really need caffeine in the mornings don't you?"

Slowly Nabiki's eyes opened, and she frowned at Ranma for a moment then down at the cup. Her smile widened into a soft expression, the first such Ranma had seen on her face and it actually made her quite pretty if he was honest. "You know Ranma I might just have to keep you."

"I'll take that as a compliment Nabs," he said dryly.

"Don't call me that." Nabiki growled, smacking his chest with her free arm even as she gleefully sipped more coffee.

"Whatever." Ranma laughed, moving over to the dining table.

Nabiki smirked at his back, her eyes trailing down to his rear and back up again approvingly, before she looked over at Akitsu nudging her in the side. "Lucky girl." Akitsu looked at her blankly for a moment, but if someone looked closely there was a faint blush on her cheeks as she nodded noticeably before following Nabiki to the table.

After letting Nabiki drink some more coffee, Ranma told them all about what he'd learned the day before. He didn't say that he had talked directly to Miya, but that one of her tenants was a Sekirei. All of it confirmed what we had already been told, though Nabiki had to bit her tongue to keep from cursing when she heard that Akitsu had not gotten one of the special black cards that MBI was handing out to the Sekirei for their upkeep. "On the other hand, it's probably not so much for their upkeep but as a way to track them anyway."

"I don't like the idea that girls like Akitsu have been indoctrinated to follow the orders of their 'Ashikabi' like that." said Kasumi mildly. But her eyes were dark and there was a frown on her face, a deeper frown than any of her family had ever seen there before.

"I know," Ranma said with a nod. "I just hope that MBI has put some protection in place, some way to stop people from abusing their Sekirei. I don't honestly know if that could be enough though, not with the idea that numbers matter in this game anyway."

Shaking her head, Akane almost let out a chuckle. "I just hope Kuno and the other boys at school don't learn about this, they'd stop coming to school and start trying to hunt up Sekirei." Then she paused. "On the other hand, that would make my life a lot easier."

"Harsh little sister, but true" Nabiki shook her head before looking at Ranma. "On a simpler topic, you know Kuno's s going to be coming back today right?

"After the beating I gave him?" Ranma whistled. "That guy's that durable?"

"Never underestimate the durability of perverts," Akane muttered getting up from the table. "I'm done thanks Kasumi."

"While that was a bit of an oversimplification, my little sister is accurate. Kuno can take a beating and keep on ticking. Or at least come back for more soon enough. So he'll come back, and you said you'd be willing to help me make a little money?" Ranma nodded, and Nabiki smirk. "Don't worry like I said it won't be anything bad. Here's the idea for this morning..."

 **OOOOOOO**

After once again having to convince Akitsu that she couldn't follow him school, Ranma and Akane once again left together, Nabiki having left earlier to put her plan in motion. When told of the plan Akane wasn't happy, but reminded herself that her father had already pointed out that sparring with the people from school wasn't really helping her get any better. And despite her victory over Akitsu, it was pretty obvious to Akane that she had to get it better to challenge Ranma.

When they reached the front gates of the school they found Tatewaki Kuno there, at the head of what Akane called the Pervert Brigade, all of the disparate clubs arrayed behind him like companies in an army. "So," he shouted pointing his wooden sword at Ranma, "the vile sorcerer returns! I will have my vengeance for your slanderous perfidious assault on myself."

"Slanderous, perfidious?" Ranma asked looking over at Akane.

"Don't bother he's not using those words right anyway." Akane replied, waving her hand in front of her face.

"My beauteous tigress, if thou wilt just wait a moment, I wilt date with thee anon! But first I might slay this miscreant. I attack!"

Ranma dodged Kuno's assault, slamming his hand against the back of Kuno's bokken, shoving it into the wall of the school directly behind him before leaping over him to land in front of the arrayed clubs waiting for him who charged him with a roar. _Looks like Nabiki was right, though I still don't get why they're all attacking me._

Flipping himself up and over a charging sumo wrestler, Ranma kicked out, taking out two tennis players, before grabbing the bokken out of one of the users' hands, using it to smash several of the rest aside with a wide angle blast of pressurized air. "So what all's your beef with me?"

"We all know you are living with Akane!" shouted more than one voice, "we won't allow that!"

"We won't allow you and her to get together like in those old-school dramas!"

"Never, she's mine, I mean ours!"

"Down with the pretty boy!"

"Feel like I'm missing something here," Ranma muttered, slamming one fist into the back of one attacker's head so hard he cartwheeled forward into three more. "But whatever. You all want to fight, I'm cool with that."

By this point Kuno had pulled his sword out of the wall, and was attacking again, doing more damage to his erstwhile allies than to Ranma. For his part Ranma was simply having fun. He hadn't faced this many opponents in a while and while none of them or really all of them combined, were any threat, it was still fun to see if he could get through the entire fight without actually being hit, grabbed, or tripped.

He was doing alright until he suddenly felt the air began to freeze around him and he groaned, leaping out over an attack from Kuno, his leg lashing out to kick the man right in the face staggering him backwards several steps. At the same time, large spheres of ice about the size of small boulders slammed into the crowd, hurling people aside smashing into the earth, or simply smacking into people immediately freezing them in place. More than half of the crowd's weapons shattered, frozen solid, including Kuno's bokken.

A second later Akitsu landed in front of Ranma, her loose silk kimono, one of the things Miya had bought her that she had really liked yesterday, fluttering lightly around her legs as she glared at all of them. "You will not harm my Ashikabi." she said, her voice iron hard.

Ranma groaned, looking over to Nabiki who shrugged her shoulders as if to say she didn't see that one coming, before turning away and began to give orders to her subordinates to repay the people who had already bet on this morning's match: Called for account of outside interference. "The sentiments appreciated Akitsu, but I wasn't in any real danger. None of these idiots have any skill enough to…"

He was interrupted by Kuno who had somehow pulled out another wooden sword. "Who is this vision I see before me, a most beauteous Yuki-onna come amongst us! But forsooth her beauty is such that I will find it within myself to welcome her posthaste, Wait oh beauteous one, I will date thee!"

With that he charged, and Akitsu actually showed a lot of emotion for the first time. That emotion was majorly freaked out. She jumped away, her eyes wide and staring and her hands moving forward quickly, conjuring an ice wall between the two of them.

The madman smashed into it, at the same time Ranma pummeled him in the back of the head with a hard kick. "Hands off!" he growled, before grabbing Kuno and hurling him towards the school.

"The rest of you lot listen up!" Ranma shouted turning to the rest of the pervert brigade. "You can try again tomorrow if you want, I promise Akitsu won't interfere. But get it straight guys you're all barking up the wrong tree. A," he said holding up one finger, "I have no designs whatsoever on Akane! She's not my type… if I have a type I don't know really, I just know what I don't like."

He looked over to see Akane sizzling slightly at his choice of words, and went on quickly. "And B, if you want to date a girl, shouldn't you know try just asking her out? With flowers or something rather than try to beat her into the ground with numbers?"

With that Ranma shook his head, moving over to Akitsu placing a gentle arm around her shoulders seeing she was still looking a little freaked out. "Akitsu," he said softly, "I thought I ask you to stay at the Tendo place."

Akitsu nodded, lifting up a small box in a cloth napkin. "You forgot your lunch Ranma-sama." Akitsu he said softly, shuddering and looking away from Kuno and nuzzling into his shoulder smiling slightly but happily when Ranma didn't move away.

"Well in the future, leave it at home okay? I think you just got a little more trouble for yourself right now…"

 **OOOOOOO**

Later that day Kuno would prove Ranma a prophet. Standing in front of Nabiki's desk he slammed down a heavy wad of bills. "The beauteous Yuki-onna mercenary one, tell me whatever you can about her! What foul spell has Saotome used to enchant her so!"

Nabiki looked down at pile of cash, her fingers twitching for a moment before she pushed it away. No, no amount of money that Kuno at least could get her hands on was worth getting on the bad side of Ranma and Akitsu. "She's staying with us on request of MBI, and I have no idea why, only that she and Ranma are friendly. You know them? The company that now owns and has renamed this city? I'm not going to question their actions, and if you any sense you won't either."

"I have heard of this new age company," Kuno said disdainfully. "But they do not own the entire city Nabiki Tendo, just all the unimportant parts." In other words the parts beyond Nerima, which Kuno viewed as sort of his own personal fiefdom with Furinkan his castle. "Very well, I will have my servants look into it. If it is but some monetary transaction, it will be easy enough to make them see reason. And if not, then I will go to MBI myself, and lay out my case before them. Surely any with the meanest intelligence will be able to see that the Ice maiden should be with someone as handsome, intelligent and rich as myself rather than that vile sorcerer."

"What about my sister Kuno?" Nabiki asked snidely. "You're going to throw her over for Akitsu? She'll be so distraught."

For a moment Kuno seemed to stare into the distance before he shouted, "I must have them both!" Causing Nabiki to nearly fall out of her chair.

"Kuno take your delusions outside!" shouted the teacher.

 **OOOOOOO**

The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully. Kuno attacked him again of course, shouting about how he would free Akane and the Ice Maiden from the vile sorcerer's grasp. But alone Kuno had no chance against Ranma, and frankly Ranma wasn't in the mood for him any longer. The moron wasn't taking the time to train between challenges, wasn't using any new attacks, and wasn't even learning from his losses. In other words he was an irritant, not a challenge.

So Ranma simply ended it quickly with a series of kicks to his chest that sent Kuno up and over the school building then went back to talking to Nabiki, agreeing to a few of her ideas for how to use his skills to make money. Martial arts construction was no new thing to him and Nabiki was even able to talk him into taking pictures of both his bodies, which she assured him would sell like hot cakes whatever price she put on them. "I don't know if you know Ranma, but you've already gotten a following, and this morning's little speech about the proper way to date girls will have gotten you even more."

"Great just what I need fan girls," Ranma groused then nudged his shoulder against Nabiki's playfully. "Should I be worried that you're trying to sell pictures of your possible fiancé? Seem's to set a bad precedent."

Nabiki shook her head, smirking as she noticed a few of the nearby students looking at them in shock. Ranma was a lot friendlier to her than most people were around here, she did after all have a certain reputation. But Ranma didn't seem to care, and she to her surprise found herself enjoying it. _The fact that he's damn attractive is also a major plus, though the curse form is still weirding me out a bit._ "I thought you said we have two years Ranma, and if clever people like us can't think of a way to convince our parents it's a bad idea in that time, we don't deserve to. Besides, don't you already have Akitsu?"

Ranma blushed, looking away. "I, er I guess, it's just I'm still a little leery about this whole Ashikabi/Sekirei thing, I mean she's cute, um **really** cute and all, and I do like her put it just is kind of sudden you know."

"No I don't know, but I can at least understand," Nabiki said dryly. "It's like being suddenly told that you might have to marry someone that you're going to meet for the first time in a few hours."

"Riiiight, remember I didn't know about that so you can't blame me for it." Ranma chuckled quietly. "So when do you want ta do to the pictures?"

"How about this weekend? We can take them over at this Miya's place, that way my little sister won't bother us with her anti-perversion rants, and I'll get to see this woman that impressed you so much. And I bet her presence will make you more comfortable about the entire thing that's three birds with one stone."

"Deal," Ranma said with a nod. "We might even get Uzume to join in. Trust me, she makes my female form look like a little girl, the pervs around here will love it."

 **OOOOOOO**

"Achoo!" Uzume sneezed loudly. "Ugh, am I getting a cold?"

Across from her Kagari gagged, grabbing up a napkin and wiping his face as Miya chuckled behind one raised hand. "You know there is a Japanese saying that if you sneeze someone's talking about you?"

"Heh, with this bod I'd be sneezing all the time if that were true Miya!" Uzume laughed, waving her off.

 **OOOOOOO**

After school ended, with yet another attack on Ranma by Kuno as he was trying to leave the school, Ranma met up with Akitsu at home and the two of them headed over to Miya. He wanted to talk to her again, more about Akitsu and her weird docile nature than anything else, hoping that Miya had some ideas on how to break her of out of it.

That thought however left his head as he hopped over the outer wall up to find Miya already standing in her garden. Her eyes were closed and as he watched her sword sheath whipped out in a move that made lightning seem slow intersecting a few dozen falling leaves. Instead of simply smacking into the leaves, the sheath, which didn't have any sort of edge, bisected each leaf right down the middle.

After the last bits of leaf fell Miya opened her eyes looking at Ranma, smiling lightly. "Hello Ranma, would you like a match? I have been looking forward to see how your training has progressed."

"Akitsu why don't you go inside for a moment?" Ranma said cracking his knuckles. "Miya and I are going to be a bit busy for a while." Without waiting for Akitsu to nod in response he charged forward, fists a blur as he took to the air lashing out with kick as he moved to one side.

Akitsu walked around the two combatants, moving to sit down on the patio, but was stopped by a hand landing on her shoulder. "Come on girl, they're going to be busy for a bit. Besides, I think I have some things you might be interested in trying on." Uzume said, smirking. Akitsu cocked her head quizzically, and Uzume leaned in whispering, "I bet your bro will love them on you."

That sold Akitsu, and she obediently followed the brunette inside.

Ranma pushed aside one slash barely dodging a cut that would've taken his arm off a second later returning fire with a kick that Miya seemed to simply glide around, her free hand coming up to lately smack the interior of his leg to the side, lifting him around. It had looked like a light smack but with Miya's pure strength any kind of touch was a powerful one.

Miya replied by nearly elbowing him in the side. But Ranma used the momentum from that to flip himself backwards towards a tree, spring-boarding off it and over Miya's head to try and take her from behind. Miya turned quickly, her sword coming up in a swift slash that would've bisected Ranma if he had landed where he had intended.

But with the skill Genma had drilled into him as a practitioner of the Aerial style of Anything Goes Ranma change direction in midair. His fist lashed out nearly touching Miya's hair for a moment as she dodged to the side.

His hand was still outstretched for just a millisecond too long and Miya grabbed it, twirling for a second to hurl him aside. "I think that is enough hand-to-hand from you," Miya said tartly.

"You said you had kept up your swords skills as well," she said kneeling down to the ground and picking up a stick, while throwing her sword sheath towards Ranma. Let's see if that's the case shall we?"

Ranma grabbed this sheath out of the air, idly wondering where the blade was but not asking about it right now. He held the sheath taking a stance with one hand thrust forward, the sword poised over one shoulder as he crouched lightly.

Across from him Miya simply stood there, her equivalent of his 'not a stance', a sign of contempt almost, but not actually a sign of a lack of defense. Their eyes met and they both went still for a second, gauging one another for a long, long moment before Ranma suddenly moved like lightning, sliding to one side and bringing his sword up and around in a cut to attack Miya's side.

At the same time Miya had taken three short sharp steps forward, her sword coming up in a straight thrust to his former position before quickly coming back into a guard, blocking his blow in a move even Ranma could barely track. From there the fight began in earnest and continued for around 40 minutes, before Ranma was thrown backwards by another riposte, the sheath flying into the air to be caught by Miya as she pointed down at him with her stick.

"That was fun," she said smiling down at him which made Ranma laugh, flipping himself up to his feet when she removed the stick from his neck.

He was a little battered and bruised around the edges, and quite sweaty, that forty minute workout had been more intense than two or three hours of sparring with his old man. "At least I made you work for at this time, at least a little bit?"

"Yes a little bit," Miya smirked, which looked very odd on her normally serene face, yet also totally right. The sight caused Ranma to laugh, picking her up and whirling her around for a moment before setting her down as she admonished him.

Miya was in fact sweating very slightly, and her clothing had been ripped in a few places but that was all. In return Ranma had been practically battered into the ground. _Not that you could tell from his expression,_ Miya thought fondly as she looked at Ranma's smile.

"We have much to work on of course. But you have indeed made quite a bit of progress. Your adaptability and learning curve have also become even greater. I am quite proud of you actually," she said thoughtfully, reaching forward to ruffle Ranma's hair causing him to smile even wider. "I still wonder many things about your father, but the fact that he at least is an adequate trainer is not among them."

"You know, you two've mentioned bro's father a lot, but never his mother, why's that? Did they separate or something?"

Ranma turned, and immediately blushed. "Akitsu," he said slowly, "what are you wearing?"

Akitsu was now dressed in a white and black French maid outfit. It was quite a bit shorter than Ranma would've liked, and quite a bit tighter yet at the same time too open around her chest, showing the top of her breasts off to very good effect. She also wore chains bound around her body for some reason, wrapped over her shoulders and around her midriff and below her chest, further emphasizing her breasts.

Uzume smirked, moving over to pull Ranma into a one armed hug. "What do you think of your ice maiden now bro? She's hot enough to melt the Arctic!"

Ranma could only nod at that. "But then again Akitsu was always beautiful." Then he looked at all of their expressions, even Miya was smirking happily at him while Akitsu blushed, her cheeks decidedly pink as she looked at the ground. "I just said that aloud didn't I?"

"Yep, guess you do have a libido somewhere in there." Uzume laughed. "Now we just need to bring out the beast!"

"Did Uzume put you up to wearing that Akitsu?" Ranma asked, pushing Uzume away lightly.

To his surprise Akitsu simply shook her head. "I like it," she said softly shaking her chains lightly and kneeling beside him on the patio, looking up at him.

"Er, really?" Ranma said still blushing and looking at her out of the corner of his eye even as he began to playfully push Uzume away who was trying to pull him into another hug, this time trying to bury his head into her chest. "Um, e-each to his own I guess. Anyway, I wanted to start patrolling the city," he said seriously, looking over at Miya and then to Uzume and Akitsu. "I want to stop anyone trying to forcefully wing Sekirei. That's not right, it's like slavery!"

Miya nodded her head. "For some strange reason no Ashikabi seems to want to operate here in the north, I can't imagine why." She continued speaking as Uzume and Ranma scoffed in unison ignoring them regally. "But I have heard rumors about what is going on elsewhere in the city, and I applaud your attempts to stop such. Before you go however, could you look around and see if there's anything you can do for inn? Our water is taking longer and longer every week to heat up both in the bath and in the kitchen. And we also have several loose floorboards in places."

"No problem," Ranma laughing and hopping to his feet. "This place is more my home than any other place I've ever been, fixing it up is just part of the deal you know?"

Miya's smile changed slightly from an approving one to a fond one. "That's always nice to hear Ranma."

Ranma went around the building quickly, finding three floorboards in the guest rooms that weren't being used, seven in Kagari's and four in Uzume's which needed new nails, or had weakened slightly in places.

The heater was a different matter entirely. One the one hand it was simply getting old, and needed a thorough cleaning. But there was also another problem.

"This is weird Miya-nee," he said, pulling at his ponytail as he pulled himself out from behind the heater. "There are few spliced lines here taking power from the electrical lines that are running the heater. They're taking a lot of juice, which makes the heater work harder to meet your demands on it. I'll want ta see if I can find where those lines're going before doing anything with this. To do that I'll need a special tool, but I can pick that up quickly enough."

Miya stiffened slightly, but shook her head. "Do what you can for now Ranma, and come back to it tomorrow. You did say you wanted to patrol the city correct? By the way, you should probably talk to Kagari about that. He is another Sekirei, and has made it his mission to stop as many forced wingings as he can." Miya felt no remorse in sharing Kagari's secret with Ranma, it was obvious the two of them didn't have any attraction towards one another, and frankly Kagari pushed himself too hard for her liking anyway.

"I'll talk to them later then. For now though, I've got a list of things will need, Akitsu, Uzume can I trust you to pick this stuff up for me while I go on patrol?" Ranma asked, handing a piece of paper to the brunette.

"I will go with you Ranma-sama." Akitsu said looking at him quickly.

"Nope. Consider this punishment for interrupting my flight this morning Akitsu." Ranma chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You can come with me the next time, but I want to do this one on my own."

Akitsu looked rebellious, though again, it would've been very tough to tell anyone else why that phrase came to his mind. It wasn't like her face changed. But Ranma met her stubbornness with his own, and eventually she sighed and nodded. Ranma nodded with her. "If I don't come back here after the meeting by say 11 o'clock, meet me at home okay?"

Akitsu nodded again even more morosely, her chains clinking lightly as she slumped and Ranma quickly turned away before he gave into the sheer cuteness that she was giving him. Exiting the inn he quickly hopped away over the rooftops.

Ranma really should have thought however that leaving Akitsu behind with Uzume was a bad idea...

 **OOOOOOO**

Leaping over the city Ranma began to get a feel for the terrain, noting where the higher building were, the areas which looked like natural battlegrounds, and the sheer amount of cameras scattered around the city. But to his surprise, he didn't see a lot of action going around. He saw a few Sekirei versus Sekirei fights, but as they all were one-on-one, and he saw two men in the background every time, he let them go.

Once he stopped and stared for a moment before hopping down landing next to a guy dressed like a biker almost, who was watching two Sekirei fighting it out in front of them, while another guy sat across from them. But the reason why Ranma stopped was because this guy had three other Sekirei lined up behind them. One of them a somewhat young girl, 13 or 14 at best with tan skin was playing on a Gameboy as she waited, and the other two were lounging around looking bored.

"Yo," he said, startling all of the watchers. "You're not going to gang up on her anything?" Ranma asked, not even introducing himself just yet while the three Sekirei turned, taking up combat stances quickly.

The biker turned to him looking Ranma up and down before grinning. "You're the one with the weird curse right? Man I have never seen any news make the rounds on the forums as quickly as that, complete with pictures. Reminded me of this American movie, where some guy was dressing up as a woman police detective and he was hot is a girl you know, so all the other police officers had fantasized about her and…"

"I get the picture thanks." Ranma interrupted scowling. "And I don't really care if I crushed any fantasies, that's their problem not mine. So you're not going to gang up on those two?"

"Nope, actually me and Oosumi **'** re friends, but Kaho-chan's a weapon user, and most of my Sekirei aren't. So I figured it would be a good practice for both of us."

"Smart," Ranma said with a nod. _Can't really say I approve of sending Sekirei to fight at all, especially when most people aren't willing to fight alongside them but at least this guy's got some morals and seems to respect his Sekirei._ "All right, that's all I wanted to…"

"Hey wait, is it true that you're just a martial artist? I mean, how'd you even get up here anyway? Just being a martial artist, that can't be the only reason why you're so good."

"I've been a martial artist since before I could walk I think," Ranma shrugged. "What normal people call martial artists I'd call amateurs. I've devoted my entire life, practically every waking moment getting better in the art, I've fought and bled to be as good as I am."

"You sure you don't have some Sekirei blood you are something?" the guy joked but froze as Ranma glared at him.

"Don't joke. I've gotten as good as I am because I've put in the effort. The very idea that someone could be as good as me without doing that, or because of some forking leg up pisses me off."

"Gotcha," the man said looking away quickly as his Sekirei, who had relaxed when the guy talked to Ranma, bristled again at Ranma's attitude towards their Ashikabi.

Ranma ignored them and simply nodded before leaving without another word hopping away over the rooftops. About an hour or so later Ranma dropped down to a hardware store to grab the tool he'd need to follow the weird electrical runs coming away from the inn's heater. As he was leaving he saw a small crowd around an arcade, and, curious, made his way over there.

Pushing his way through the crowd easily, Ranma entered the arcade to find a woman sitting at the controls of some kind of elaborate strategy game in the center of the room. It had ten different systems all linked together, and large screens facing each of the users, showing what looked like a map of Europe and various armies moving across it. This was interspersed by scenes of combat. The combat looked real-time, while the strategy portion looked turn-based but with a time limiter.

The whole thing was damn elaborate, and frankly more tech than Ranma had seen at any point on his training trip but that wasn't what grabbed his attention. That was the young woman, who he felt just had to be a Sekirei. She looked rather incongruous in the arcade, dressed in a semi-professional looking purple outfit of some kind with frills around the neck and under her chest, which looked like they were just as large as Akitsu's, a major clue in Ranma's opinion to her Sekirei status. She had short gray hair and wore what Ranma would term school marm glasses, red half-moon glasses connected to a bit of rope behind her neck. She also had a blue dot right in the center of her chest.

Her smile however showed she was enjoying herself taking years off her face, and her eyes behind those glasses seemed to flash as her hands moved over the controls, controlling the tactical screen for a moment. Judging from the various colors it was obvious that the girl was beating all the other players, despite a few of them having teamed up in an effort to take her on.

Ranma, moving through the crowd to stand directly behind her, looked at the screen seeing she was fighting the Russian army controlled by one of the other players. "Huh, so you're playing as… Britain right? So this game is sort of like World War 2 but with it being a free-for-all rather than Allies versus Axis?"

"Somewhat yes," the woman replied distractedly not looking up from the screen. "There's no equivalent of America though, most of it's unit types have been given out to the UK and other European countries to keep the action in Europe and so the game didn't need to include a lot of water power units. The next upgrade though is going to change that while enlarging the map."

"Does the game allow you to use terrain?"

"No, that would be far too hard to program into this primitive operating system, it's mostly about types of troops, logistics and numbers."

"Hmm… the troops would be some kind of Jan-ken-pon thing, or something more realistic?"

"The programmers tried to create a system that would be somewhat realistic, but there is a bit of 'this unit always does better against this unit but is weak against unit three', true. Now if you don't mind, I'm busy."

Ranma nodded, looking toward the doorway where the crowd where he spotted four obvious Sekirei trying to force their way into the building. One of whom Ranma recognized, the green-haired girl who had been ganging up on Blondie a few days ago. They couldn't quite get through the crowd yet, but from the green-haired girl's face it was pretty obvious she was close to simply forcing her way through. "Well, that's nice and all, but yer a Sekirei right?"

As the grey-haired woman stiffened, Ranma went on unhurriedly. "Because if ya are, it looks as if yer in trouble, unless you want ta be taken by some of your already winged sisters and forced to join them?"

The girls eyes flicked up and around from the game for the first time, her smile fading as she noticed the foursome by the door. Neither she nor Ranma noticed one of the other players stand up and try to move through the crowd around the game toward them. "Hmm… Toyotama, #16, and Sai, #31. Can't make out the other two. Damn it." She turned to look up at Ranma, her eyes narrowing slightly behind her half-moon glasses. "But why…" those eyes widened as they took in Ranma's appearance for the first time. "The anomaly!"

"Heh, yeah I bet MBI is calling me that now. Still if ya want to remain free and make your own decisions, I think we should get ready to fight."

The woman shook her head. "I'm not a combat type, I'm a brain type, I'd have trouble against any one of those girls, let alone four. Unless you're saying you can face all four yourself?"

"Probably could, but not without trashing this place big time. No, let's get out of here and if they follow us I can ambush them somewhere else." With that Ranma reached down and pulled the girl to her feet before throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. The crowd around him muttered in shock, and the player who had been making to round the game opened his mouth to shout, but Ranma had already turned away, leaping up and over the crowd, ignoring his passenger's shouts of surprise and anger.

At the same moment Toyotama had pushed her way through the crowd and saw Ranma leaping away with the girl. "Damnit!" With a sweep of her spear she smashed several people out of her way, causing screams of pain and fear to go through the crowd who hurried out of her way. With the way clear she hurled her spear forward, following it quickly as the other Sekirei with her entered the arcade, rushing forward over the bodies of the crowd most of whom had gone to ground quickly.

Ranma turned swiftly, smashing the spear up into the ceiling with a sweeping blow from his free hand. At the same time he mule kicked out backwards, smashing the emergency exit door off it's hinges and out into the alleyway beyond. "Nice try Greenie!" He laughed running through the now open door and leaping up and away.

Surprisingly the four Sekirei in the arcade paused, looking over at the player who had been moving to talk to the gray-haired Sekirei. He was a young man in his early twenties with black hair, eyes and glasses who wore a very good suit, standing out among the arcade goers just as much as the woman had. He shook his head as the four looked at him, three obviously asking for orders while Toyotama simply sneered at him. "Well that's one plan that didn't go right, well what are you waiting for after them! If I can't trick Kocho into bonding with me, we need to at least capture her for Higa-san!"

Toyotama smirked, and rushed out the door followed by the others. The man looked after them, scowling as he pushed his glasses up his nose. Ignoring the moans of the wounded and the rising noise from the crowd which began to get to their feet he left by the door, pulling out a phone at the same time. "Higa-san, I regret to report that Plan A to secure the brain type has failed due to outside interference. Toyotama is on their trail now to pursue Plan B, but given what we have already seen and learned about the anomaly, I only give them a fifty/fifty chance of succeeding in securing the brain type for us."

That was actually overstating the case severely. Ranma had quickly left behind his pursuers despite the woman he was carrying thumping his back and demanding he set her down. Several dozen rooftops away he did so, dumping her unceremoniously on her ass. "Alright, that's enough lady, I just saved ya from being winged or whatever against yer will, and what thanks do I get?"

The woman scowled her arms around her chest in such a way to thrust her breasts even further forward, something Ranma did his best not to notice. "You could have done it more elegantly, carried me in your arms rather than like a sack of wheat!" She then sighed, looking away, pushing her glasses back in place with her palm. "But thank you anyway I could not have gotten out of that without your aid. My name is Kocho, what's yours?"

"You're welcome, and the name's Ranma." Ranma replied, before turning and staring back over the rooftops they'd traversed. "But I suggest we move. I'd like nothin' better than to fight these losers, but I don't know if I could do that and protect you too. I take it a 'brain type' is weaker than element or straight up combat types?"

"While all Sekirei are uniformly stronger than humans…" the woman trailed off shaking her head as she stood up next to Ranma. "Most humans anyway, brain types have no special skill set or offensive powers that are applicable in direct combat. Instead we specialize on manipulation of electrical appliances, technology, and gathering information. So to answer your question, yes, we need to get a move on."

Ranma nodded and turned gesturing the girl to follow him and they leaped away just as Toyotama and her fellows came into view several rooftops back. They tried to keep up, but Ranma and Kocho soon left them in the dust, losing them among the skyscrapers before turning towards the North.

Moving in a straight line across the city rather than trying to taking the sites and memorize the terrain Ranma and Kocho were back near Izumo House within a bare ten minutes. Kocho occasionally sent him glances over her glasses apparently shocked at his speed, which threatened to leave her behind easily.

But Ranma had seen several of the Sekirei moving at pretty much the same sort of speed, so he didn't know why she was shocked at it. _Unless this is another example of Sekirei looking down on humans, thinking we can't measure up to them? Feh, stupid of them, there might not be many of us martial artists but even so its not like they've got a monopoly on weird powers_

When they arrived Miya opened the door a bare few seconds after Ranma rang the doorbell. Cocking her head quizzically to the side she looked at the woman Ranma had standing behind Ranma. _Don't tell me he's already found another Sekirei? Akitsu will be heartbroken if she has to share him with someone who can Bond with him so quickly._ "Hello Ranma, who is this?"

"I am Kocho, Sekirei #22 a brain type, Asama-sama," the woman replied, bowing formally from the waist, her eyes behind her red rimmed glasses locked on the landlady. It was a both respectful and very wary look.

Miya's eyebrows rose. "Ara, and how would one such as you know an old widow woman like me?" Though the question came out rather bland, Miya's own eyes narrowed slightly, and the first hints of her hanya mask begun to appear over her shoulder.

"D-During my adjustments with MBI, I was allowed to use my powers for them in various ways Asama-sama. Your n-name came up in the security footage for the northern area of the city. Many of the security people are afraid of you, and I think a lot of the higher ups too." Kocho replied, flinching slightly.

"I wonder why," Ranma mused sarcastically, winking at Miya. "Anyway, I ran into her in an arcade about ta be ambushed by some of the same losers that attacked Blondie a few days ago, and she wanted a safe place to stay, so…"

At that some of the tension seemed to evaporate from the scene, and Miya nodded. "In any event, all are welcome here so long as you follow the rules. One of those rules is there is no violence in Izumo House. Well," she amended looking at Ranma with her own little smile, "outside of sparring at any rate. And you have to pay for meals and lodging. Further, I do not accept MBIA cards here."

"I have three offshore bank accounts at present." The woman said blandly, smirking now as she pushed her glasses up her nose. "I did say that I was allowed access to MBI's computer systems. Further, I would be willing to get it job in the local area, so long as I do not need to leave the territory you guard."

At Miya's raised eyebrow she went on. "I've no wish to join this game one way or the other. I am a brain type, either I would my skills would be abused in some fashion, or I would become an easy target. Neither situation appeals."

"Besides your skill with computers, do you are you able to do anything else?"

"I have been told I am somewhat of a cook, though I have only ever cooked for my adjuster and our Sekirei brethren," she frowned for a moment, cocking her head to one side and suddenly looking much younger than she had been, as young as she had looked playing the strategy game when Ranma first spotted her. "Or should that be sisters, considering how many of us are women, aren't we more like a sisterhood than anything else?"

"I don't know." Ranma asked cocking his head to one side and they both turned to look at Miya.

"How am I supposed to now? I'm just an,"

"Old widow-woman." said Ranma and Uzume from where she had walked up behind Miya. Akitsu too had shown up and now stood behind Ranma, but this time he had seen her coming.

"Now you're just ganging up on me," Miya pouted lightly, shaking her head before once again turning to Kocho. "I will allow you to use those offshore accounts of yours to pay for the first two weeks of rent and utilities. But that money still comes from MBI and I want nothing to do with them

Kocho nodded rapidly and Ranma smiled looking over at Akitsu. "In that case, I think it's time we had back to the Tendo place. Kasumi wanted us home for dinner. See you tomorrow Miya-nee."

Miya nodded, gesturing and Kocho followed as the two of them turned away, hopping off and over the rooftops away.

 **OOOOOOO**

The next day Ranma woke up with Akitsu once again in her bed. 'Her' bed because Ranma had sort of anticipated this, and figured that if they were both girls, there was much less likelihood of anything bad happening between them.

This didn't stop his father from attempting to throw ice cold water over them, and Akitsu's automatic attempt to protect them by freezing the water backfired badly, but neither were injured much. They later watched Nabiki 2.0 come online thanks to its intake of coffee, as amusing a sight from the sidelines as it had been yesterday. She scowled at them both, but Ranma was certain it was a playful one.

Kuno was again a bother at school, but nothing that Ranma couldn't deal with. His shouts about returning his "Most beauteous Yuki-onna, who the very heavens must have sent to be mine bride" got on Ranma's nerves very quickly however. And whenever Ranma remembered Akitsu's look of shock and fear he was tempted to do something… permanent… to the bastard.

Surprisingly the boys of the 'beat Akane to date her club' seemed to have gotten the hint yesterday, or at least one of the hints he dropped because none of them even gave Ranma a second glance, but they were all still there attacking Akane rather than trying to get a date the normal way.

This allowed Ranma to beat up Kuno and head up to the Nabiki's classroom. She had set up a microphone for him, and Ranma began to do commentary on the fight between the pervert brigade and Akane. This color commentary allowed Nabiki to actually start charging the entire student body for watching, not much of course, just 200 yen. But considering the size of the audience this added up fast, and allowed Nabiki to make in a single morning enough to cover the house's food expenses for two days.

Akane was of two minds about this. On the one hand, Akane didn't want anyone to fight her battles for her. On the other it was getting really irritating, and her father's comments about it not doing her overall skills any good remained in the back of her head.

After school Ranma once again picked up Akitsu from the Tendo place, and the two of them made their way to Miya after picking up the device he needed to trace the electrical lines taking power from the heater.

Running the device over the walls, he marked the spot then went inside, heading up to the second floor where he paused, cocking his head and staring at the far wall. "Huh…"

Uzume was behind Akitsu, and looked over her shoulder at Ranma. "What?"

"Who put that there?" Ranma asked pointing in front of him towards the blank wall at the far end of the second floor hallway.

Uzume quickly looked away not knowing how Miya wanted to handle their other tenant. "I don't know what you're talking about bro, but what where?"

"That hidden doorway over there. It's so badly done I can spot it right away."

Miya, who was behind Uzume, chuckled, 'fufufu' sound. "I'll remember to tell the person who put it in that you said that Ranma, he became our handyman after you left, a friend of my husband's named Seo. Seo's trash, utterly and completely trash always living off the handouts of others."

"Gotcha," Ranma said with a nod. "Whoever is in there though is using more than half the juice that should be going to the heater. If ya want to keep powering whoever's in there, ya should rewire everything so she takes it off the main electrical runs into the house rather than from the heater. That'd take time, but it would not only be safer, but also more energy efficient."

"I will think about it Ranma. Could you do the work?" Miya asked, ushering them all downstairs to sit in the dining table, where Akitsu set out tea for them all, having been shown how to brew it by Miya while Ranma was busy with his tool.

"Does whoever lives behind that door at least pay you rent and for the electricity he/she/it's usin'?" Ranma asked, sitting down.

Miya chuckled quietly, one hand over her mouth as she did, before nodding thanks to Akitsu. "Come to think of it I don't think she does. Something I must look into. I can't have one of my tenants be too much a burden after all, or else I'd have no choice but to throw them out."

There was a sudden squawk from the direction of the small side table that held the phone. On it stood a little porcelain duck that for some reason Miya kept there for some reason which had rocked for just a moment. Ranma looked at it quizzically, but Miya waved off his look.

"So she's a, what's the word, a hikikamori?" Ranma asked.

"Something like that, almost exactly like that. Certainly she's just as much a freeloader as those pour souls. Though I imagine she, like they at least have some redeeming qualities I cannot bring any to mind right now." Miya chuckeld, once again hiding her mouth behind one hand.

That caused more squawks from the direction of the side table but Ranma simply shrugged. "Well, if you ever want to make her pay rent I've heard of a job in Nerima. I've not seen any sign of Sekireis or MBI influence there." He had easily connected Miya already housing two Sekirei to a possible third, and then figured out she might have, like Uzume, left MBI before they would have willingly let her out. "As long as she's actually good with computers anyway. Unless you want it Kocho?" he asked, looking over at the gray haired young woman.

"No thanks." Kocho replied, shaking her head quickly. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in leaving this safe zone. Just because the Sekirei Plan hasn't spread to Nerima doesn't mean it won't." She looked over seriously at Miya, one hand stroking a box holding a brand new laptop set on the floor beside her. "Whoever is behind the door, Ranma said he or she uses up a lot of electricity, what about the internet bandwidth?"

"That I'm afraid you'll have to take up with them," Miya said shrugging. "I don't use the internet."

"I will," Kocho said, her fingers now clenching and unclenching. "I must have access to the Internet! I refuse to quit playing my games just because someone else is too greedy to share."

After that, Ranma sparred with Miya for a time. Miya also took the time to train Akitsu for a bit, before the two of them went out on patrol, Akitsu joining Ranma this time.

This patrol was much more work than before, because Ranma wanted to go further around the city, and he wanted to stay out longer too. But for the first few hours of the patrol it looked like nothing was going to happen today. This changed when they both heard some loud shouts in the distance and a series of thumps. "Damn it leave me alone! I told you I already found someone I'm reacting to!"

"Do we look like we care? Our Ashikabi-sama has ordered us to capture any un-winged Sekirei and we're going to do just that. Once you kiss him you'll see things our way!"

Ranma and Akitsu made their way toward the sound, finding three Sekirei attacking one, who was pinned down in an alleyway, unable to get past her attackers to freedom. The girl pinned at the far end of the alleyway wore a purple and white leotard of some kind with a white cloth wrapped around her waist with long red stockings and gloves. She had long brown hair tied into a long tail at the back and wielded a huge halberd, a liability in an enclosed space like the alleyway. Indeed, it had already been caught in the side of the building next to her, the halberd's edge having gotten stuck in the wall of the building to her right.

The three Sekirei who were facing her were three Ranma hadn't seen before though as he and Akitsu moved forward Ranma also noticed that there didn't seem to be any guy around, so their Ashikabi must have sent them out on their own. _Damn, that's worse than just watching them fight your just ordering them around like troops? That's really sad, and cowardly._

Two of the attackers looked like they were twins with blonde hair tied into two long ponytails sticking out from the sides of their head and similar features. They even wore the same outfit, a one piece dress that fell to mid-calf with a long yellow stripe down the center and long black stockings. One of them was wielding a whip, while the other seemed to have several long strings tied to her fingers twirling them around in the air.

Both of them were attacking the girl in the leotard vigorously, moving in sync and shouting instructions to one another. "Get her left leg with your whip Mitsuha, I'll get her arms with my strings! Remember we can't hurt her too hard, Mikogami-sama doesn't want damaged toys."

"I know that Mitsuki, mind your own business! Try to pull that halberd out of her hands, with out it capturing her will be easy!"

The last girl was dressed in a long kimono with no sleeves tied with a wide sash around her waist, and had her black hair pulled to one side of head. She didn't look as enthusiastic as the other two but neither was there any hesitation in her attack. She didn't seem to use any weapons, attacking with a style that looked like an offensive tai-chi style than anything else. Her hands flashed out in quick chops and punches before she retreated out of the way of the others.

Ranma noticed all of this within a few seconds of him and Akitsu's arrival and now he leaped forward, kicking out toward the girl with the whip. "Akitsu, take out the black haired girl!"

The whip user turned, barely in dodging to one side Ranma's initial kick staring at him in surprise as she ducked away. "Wh, why the hell're you getting in ouGAAH!" She didn't dodge Ranma's next punch, which caught her in the stomach which hurled her back and away into the wall. Before she could push herself away Ranma was on her, pummeling her into the concrete with a series of punches. Mitsuha blocked a few of them, but she wasn't fast enough or strong enough to stop the assault, and one blow got in, smashing into her temple with enough strength to send her senseless to the street.

Ranma turned from his opponent to see the one name Mitsuki be dealt with by the girl who she and the other two had been attacking. Mitsuki had turned toward Ranma and Akitsu, but had already wrapped some of her thin ropes around the girl's halberd. Instead of Mitsuki pulling it out of her grip the other woman pulled her into the air. Off balance and halfway turned away there was no way Mitsuki could protect herself from a full-body palm thrust the girl threw forward with all her might, smashing into the blonde's side with enough power to hurl her out and into the air over the main street to slam into a building on the other side.

The other attacker, the one in the kimono, was frozen solid trapped against the wall of the building on the alleyway's left. She was still alive, and Ranma could see her eyes flicking around, but it was obvious the girl couldn't break the ice encasing her without more in the way of leverage. Akitsu stood next to her demurely, staring hard between the down Mitsuha and the girl in the leotard.

That worthy turned to them both smiling and bowing politely. "Thank you for your help! I'm Namiji, they were trying to take me to be winged by their Ashikabi, but I have already met someone I am reacting too. Indeed I was travelling to his school to meet him when they attacked me."

"That's nice I suppose, though I still have questions about this whole reacting thing. I'm Ranma and this is Akitsu, we're trying to stop forced wingings from happening, as much as we can anyway." Ranma shrugged. "Can't be everywhere after all, but we'll do what we can. You okay now?"

Namiji nodded, but her attention had turned to Akitsu. She stared at the mark on her forehead for a moment, then over to Ranma before smiling brightly, moving forward to hug the Sekirei of ice in a sisterly fashion. She whispered into her ear, "Even if your ability to bond was taken from you it looks like you found your Ashikabi! Congrats!"

"Ahh… yes." Akitsu replied, blushing ever so slightly as she spoke hesitantly, before hugging the other girl back for a brief second.

Releasing her hug Namiji turned back to Ranma, gesturing at their opponents. "What do you want to do with them?"

Ranma shrugged reaching down to grab the girl he'd down and toss her upward to land limply on the rooftop to their left. He then moved over to Akitsu's former opponent, shattering the ice over her head with a single controlled punch. The girl stared at him, but remained silent and he nodded at her. "Ya lost, but I ain't gonna 'terminate' ya or whatever it's called when you Sekirei are so hurt your marks disappear. I don't like killing, and that sounds way too close to killing for my liking. But you tell yer master, he's that little shrimp, the rich boy right?"

"Y, yes, he is. Who, I mean you're really human?! I read some of the posts and saw a video of your curse, but I didn't really believe it, you're the same person as the redhead right?"

"Yep that's me, and yep I'm human. Just something to keep in mind in the future."

Behind him Namiji nodded. "There are other humans out there that are as talented as Sekirei. My senpai at St. Hebereke High school is one of them."

Ranma turned to her quizzically, noting the girl did look as if she could possibly pass for a high school student, unlike Akitsu or Kocho. "Wait, you go to school?"

"Of course, ever since we were told about them I wanted to go to school, it sounded fun, and St. Hebereke has the best women Gymnastics teams in the country." Namiji replied proudly. "I could wish the school was coed so I could spend more time with my possible Ashikabi, but even so it's been a lot of fun." She laughed suddenly. "I've even started to learn how to cook without setting off the fire alarm."

"Huh." Ranma shook his head before turning back to the trapped girl. "Anyway, back on topic, so I'm not going to terminate you, and I'll leave the blonde twins up top for you to find later, when we leave Akitsu will stop pumping power into the ice and you should escape easily after that. But I want ya ta tell the brat that he should stop trying to collect Sekirei like they're Pokémon okay?"

The girl looked torn. On the one hand she should defend her Ashikabi, who most definitely was not a brat, and always took care of them, paying for anything they wanted out of his own pocket and they all lived happily in his mansion. On the other hand, he did sometimes seem to treat some of them like they were troops or toys rather than companions. But the more sisters they had, the better their odds would be, so she saw his point even if she didn't like it. So she simply settled for making a noncommittal noise, before thanking the human, a thought she was still having trouble with, for not terminating her.

Ranma smirked at her, patted the girl on the head before turning to Namiji. "You alright now?"

"I should be, I'm only a few minutes away from where Taka-chan goes to school, and after this I think I'll ask him to wing me right away. That should be enough to stop girls like this from coming after me." With a final bow to her saviors Namiji turned, leaping up and off over the rooftops.

Ranma and Akitsu stayed there to gather up the other blonde girl, setting her next to her sister before leaving the scene themselves.

After several blocks, Akitsu spoke up as they were hopping from one roof to another. "Master, do you prefer leotards to maid uniforms?"

Ranma lost his footing and crashed down into the alleyway below, straight into the side of a dumpster, which dented under the impact. "What kind of question is that?"

"A serious one master."

"Don't care either way about them." Grumbling and blushing Ranma rejoined Akitsu on the roof, then scowled as the first raindrops began to fall from. Moments later the rain began in earnest and Ranma scowled further. "Great, just great."

The rain seemed to put a damper on most people's willingness to fight, and the rest of the night passed uneventfully. Ranma sighed shaking her head and wringing out her hair for a moment as the two of them took shelter underneath the awning of a restaurant's entrance. "I think we can call it a night Akitsu, let's head back to the Tendo place, we're closer to Nerima than we are to Miya's district, she'll understand with this rain pouring down."

Akitsu nodded then looked away when her stomach began to rumble loudly. "Food?" she asked plaintively.

"That's right," Ranma groaned, smacking her forehead. "Kasumi said she and her father would be out at a council meeting tonight. And it' too late to go to Miya's for dinner. Don't suppose you have any cash on you?"

Akitsu gave the redhead a deadpan stare, and when Akitsu gave you a stare like that, boy did she ever.

But Ranma just shrugged her shoulders. "Thought not. Well I could always mooch food somewhere I guess, I've done it a few times since I got this body."

"You there!" said a loud female voice from further back along the road. Would you be, ah you are! Excellent." Ranma and Akitsu both turned to sea a statuesque blonde woman walking through the rain as if it didn't been bother her. It was only when she got close that Ranma realized the blond looked only slightly damp. It was as if the rain bent around her or at least her clothing.

Ranma also realized she knew the blonde. "You're the woman from a few days , Tsukiumi right, what's up?"

"When you left so quickly I did not have the time to thank you properly," Tsukiumi said in return. "I dislike being in debt to anyone, and I did hear at least some of your conversation. Would a meal even the score between us?"

Ranma and Akitsu exchanged a glance before both of them nodded. Tsukiumi stared at Akitsu for a moment examining her closely which Akitsu returned blandly. "I see, there were rumors that one of our sisters had her bonds unnaturally broken. I actually envy you. You will never have to face the indignity of becoming subservient to some over-evolved monkey."

"I resemble that remark, some of it anyway." Ranma said mildly then gestured at the restaurant behind them. "Since you're the one paying, you get to choose where we're going."

Tsukiumi nodded imperiously, and stalked past Akitsu to stare at the menu before shaking her head quickly. "No, this will not do. There is a very nice Italian restaurant a few blocks down follow me."

The three of them were soon ensconced in a booth at the restaurant, with Tsukiumi ordering them some lemonade, along with bread and oil. As they waited for the reader to come back with that and for their mean orders, Ranma looked at Tsukiumi. "So, have any more troubles of the gang up kind since we last met?"

"Not at all, though I do not know if that is because no one wishes to try their luck against me again, or because I've been more careful moving around the city. The east of the city and the south are the centers for that kind of conflict." Her hands clenched where they lay on the table for a moment and she threw back her head angrily staring at Ranma challengingly a sign that brought an answering smirk to his face. "I would take on anyone one-on-one, that is the only true way of proving your strength, but this game seems to be emphasizing numbers and teams over individual skill. The larger flocks have an advantage, but I will not become subservient to some stupid monkey, regardless of the prize!"

"You mentioned that before and given how Akitsu and I get along I can understand where you're coming from. But does that mean you don't believe in this whole 'Bond' thing?"

"Of course not!" Tsukiumi said just a little too quickly for Ranma to believe her while by the redhead's side Akitsu's eyes narrowed slightly, as she stared at Ranma. "The very idea that any monkey who could somehow claim my lips through guile or trickery and become my eternal beloved is a fallacy! But why do you speak as if it is not your problem, I see no broken mark on you? Or do you still believe you are a human?"

"I don't think it, I know it. Trust me," Ranma frowned for a moment thinking of how to prove that she was human without resorting to the curse. After all, that might not work, and frankly given the blonde's views about humans and in particular guys, it might not be the best idea. _Certainly not in a crowded restaurant..._ "Have you Sekirei ever been allowed to leave Tokyo? Have any of you been overseas?"

"Of course not, MBI keeps our leashes tight." Tsukiumi scowled.

"Well, I've been overseas. I've been to China, to Vietnam, to Tibet, to the Koreas, even crossed into Mongolia for a bit. I can speak Chinese well enough, and get by in a few other languages, at least well enough to get my point across. I could describe some of the tourist traps in them to you if you want me to. I also have a father, he's a waste of space most of the time, but he's a really good martial artist. He's one of the two that trained me, the other lives up in the north of the city."

Akitsu nodded. "He is good," she said softly, wishing to back up her Ranma-sama. "Genma and I trained today, and if I cannot keep my distance, I have no chance of victory."

"If monkeys could fight that well, why would they have to resort to Sekirei?" Tsukiumi asked skeptically. "No, all monkeys are weak and want to enslave us so they can trick themselves into thinking they're strong."

'Don't look at me when you say that," Ranma replied mildly. "I don't want to enslave anyone, I'm not even happy with the way Akitsu treats me."

At that Akitsu's eyes narrowed again and she shifted, bumping her thigh against Ranma's for a moment before settling again, staring at the redhead.

Tsukiumi looked at Akitsu for a moment then back to the redhead. "…I could almost believe you are human even if it does sound fantastical that any human could match a Sekirei. But the way Akitsu looks at you, that is the way a Sekirei would look at her master rather than another Sekirei."

"Whether you believe or not is up to you." Ranma said with a shrug. "I can't say I'm happy to have you think that I cheated to get as good as I am, but whatever."

"Cheated, what do you mean?"

"You Sekirei are all born with your abilities. You didn't earn them like I had to with years of hard training, sweat and more than a bit of pain. So, cheating."

Tsukiumi glared at Ranma, her teeth clenched angrily, and when she spoke it hissed out between those clenched teeth, accompanied by the water in their glasses trembling for a moment as if it was about to leap out. "I trained every day for hours on end to get as good as I am with water manipulation. Yes, I might have been born with the ability to use water in the first place, but it is only through exertion and time devoted to the effort that have made me as good as I am with it. Do not call me a cheat!"

Ranma frowned for a moment then nodded her head. "All right, I'll apologize for that one, though I will say that a lot of your fellow Sekirei seem to not have the same attitude."

"Apology accepted and yes, I suppose there are Sekirei like that." Tsukiumi said nodding her head crisply. So, tell me of your own training."

The two of them talked for a while, with Akitsu generally keeping silent, looking at Ranma and Tsukiumi intently but not interjecting often. The waiter soon arrived with their bread and drinks and they all quickly ordered, sending him off before turning back to the discussion, which at that moment was about how tactics could be effected by the environment around you.

Eventually Ranma shook her head. "The long-range techniques I saw you use in that fight and what you've told me about the rest of your bag of tricks sound devastating, but you really need some skill in hand-to-hand just in case someone can close with you, especially in an urban environment. Most of the time in a city you're fighting in close or at mid-range at best. Maybe a water sword or something, could you do that?"

"Certainly, nothing is beyond my ability!" Tsukiumi said haughtily, but she was looking thoughtful as she said it. "You said that one of your trainers lives in the city, this Miya person. Would she be willing to have a match with me? Not," she added hastily. "That I will learn anything truly useful, but experience is always a benefit, and perhaps I could come up with new tactics while sparring with her."

That made Ranma pause for a moment, but he nodded. _My curse'll come out sooner or later, best it be where Miya can step in and keep things peaceful._ "Yeah, she might not be willing to train you, but she would at least let us use your backyard, and that way we could spar together. Akitsu here is going to learn hand-to-hand for me and from my old man, but I don't think I want to introduce you to him just yet. I think your personalities would clash badly." Ranma said understating things, but thankfully Tsukiumi did not pursue that.

Just then the food arrived. With food in front of them all three of them fell to their food ravenously. Ranma interrupted his meal for a moment pointing at Tsukiumi. "By the way, there are at least three other Sekirei living there, but none of them are interested in the actual Sekirei Game. One of them is a guy, I don't know if he's got a master yet but I don't think so. One of them has no interest in a master or playing the game, she's a brain type, and doesn't want to fight anyone in this game. The other is a brunette named Uzume, but her master is in the hospital for some reason, and it's a touchy subject with her."

Tsukiumi nodded. "Thank you for telling me," she said graciously. "The male and I might come into conflict, but I certainly won't start anything with the other two. If they start something with me however all bets are off."

"There is no violence in Izumo House." Akitsu spoke up. "They will not start anything outside of sparring."

Ranma nodded. "Miya keeps a very tight hold on that kind of thing. We'll be by tomorrow, hopefully to train the entire day away, Tsukiumi," Ranma said, after writing down directions to Miya's house. "Will we see you there?"

"Perhaps. For now, I have lodgings in a hotel nearby, and if the weather tomorrow is like this, even I would prefer to stay inside." At Ranma's look Tsukiumi shot the redhead a superior smirk. "My powers allow me some control over water of all sorts, which allows me to keep the rain away from me for a time, but it is rather exhausting."

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully, with Ranma telling the two of them about his training trip Tsukiumi replied with a few stories of her own training, with Akitsu occasionally speaking up but for the most part remaining quiet. Their training had a lot more to do with observation and computer electronics than anything Ranma recognized as training but it seemed to have worked for them.

Beyond that, Tsukiumi and Ranma were alike in many ways. Both had a certain arrogance, though Ranma softened his with humor, both wanted to be the best, or as Tsukiumi put it, the strongest. But Ranma was far worldlier than the Sekirei of Water, who in turn was much less flexible than Ranma when it came to her opinions about things, such as humans.

Eventually the meal ended, and Tsukiumi picked up the bill with her MBI card. Spotting that Ranma frowned slightly, but shrugged her shoulders it wasn't any of her business after all.

They parted company outside, where Ranma and Akitsu once again braved the rain leaping up and away over the rooftops. Tsukiumi stared after them for a moment smiling slightly. _Well, at least at this female of the species is nicer to deal with the male ones._

 **OOOOOOO**

Minaka smirked at the five men he'd chosen. All of them were ex-special ops from various countries. They didn't like one another, but they had proven in the past to be able to work together. He had spent the past two days looking up old legends and stories of China, trying to figure out where Ranma had come about his odd gender changing curse and had finally narrowed it down to the Bayakala range and one of four or five odd legends set in that zone.

"Now remember, I just want samples of the water from these 'cursed springs'. Don't try to investigate the area or the water yourself, and whatever you do, don't get involved with anything local. If I'm right, even a little bit of this water can add a bit of needed excitement to the game!"

With that he began to cackle, causing the hardened soldiers in front of him to exchange glances before sighing as one. The things they'd do for money…

 **OOOOOOO**

By the time Ranma and Akitsu were back at the Tendo place it was well past midnight and even Akitsu was uncomfortable. The Sekirei of Ice might be able to use ice, and she usually didn't have any trouble with temperatures, but being wet on top of being cold was a different matter. The little redhead however was actually shivering, so when Ranma told Akitsu she could have a bath first Akitsu refused, her entire body once again radiating a surprising amount of stubbornness. "Go get dry clothing Ranma-sama, I will start the bath."

Ranma didn't even try to fight her and gratefully snuck into his room for a clean, and above all dry, set of clothing before heading into the bathing area. Stripping off her wet clothing she let them all drop with wet plops to the ground of the changing area, before entering the bath itself, sighing as the heat of the room hit her.

It was a few seconds before Ranma realized she wasn't alone. Akitsu stood by the doorway clad only in a towel wrapped around her middle, barely covering her chest at the top and her thighs at the bottom, but it was enough to keep Ranma from having an immediate nosebleed moment™. Instead Ranma squeaked slightly, turning away rapidly. "Akitsu, what have I told you about this!? Boys and girls don't bath together!"

"I am not a girl, Ranma-sama, I am a Sekirei. Besides, I feel we need to talk about things of this nature." Akitsu replied, moving forward to take the shorter redhead's hand. "Please Ranma-sama, let's get you warm."

Ranma found herself unable to protest as the other girl pulled her lightly over to the washing area, plopping her down on one of the stools there. Akitsu turned picking up a pail and filling it with warm water before pouring it over the redhead's head, changing her into him quickly. Ranma was about to tell Akitsu to wash herself, when the porcelain-skinned woman moved behind him. There was a swishing noise and then the sound of something hitting the ground and he began to turn around only for Akitsu to dump another bucket of water over his head.

Through his matted hair Ranma could tell that Akitsu had pulled off her towel, and Ranma could feel his body heating up, despite still being somewhat cold from their rush home, his heart beginning to beat almost as fast as it would be in a fight. The woman was truly beautiful her skin glistening with water, her breasts heaving slightly, her cheery red nipples standing out so much they almost grabbed his attention and wouldn't let go. "A-Akitsu, what…" he said in a strangled sort of tone, turning away with an effort of will. "What are you doing, I told you I …"

He trailed off as Akitsu gently pressed into his back, her arms just as gently encircling him for a moment. "Shhh…" she said gently, her voice strangely more assertive than normal despite her soft tone. "We need to talk Ranma-sama, and this way is the best way I can think of to show you that I am serious."

For a moment Ranma fought several different instincts, a few of which he didn't even know he had. Some wanted him to run, some wanted him to blush, stutter and possibly die from blood loss. Others, the new ones, wanted him to turn and do things to Akitsu he only really knew about in a very academic sort of way but which now had suddenly become far more **interesting**.

Eventually he simply nodded. "Stop calling me sama, and I'll, I'll stay put. But so does the towel, okay?"

"Ahh… okay, Ranma," Akitsu replied, slipping back into her old habit of needing to pause and think before speaking. But she did actually drop the -sama so Ranma counted it as a win despite still being mildly close to a complete brain-freeze because of her pressing her breasts, so soft and so **enticing,** into his back.

As if sensing this, Akitsu moved away slightly one hand resting on the back of Ranma's neck as she turned away. There was the sound of a splash, and Ranma turned his neck to stare as Akitsu lathered her front with soap before pushing her breasts back into Ranma's back. He couldn't stop a low groan from escaping and his face and body flushed further. "A, Akitsu, what…"

"Uzume-san had several books which showed men enjoying this. Please stay still Ranma I want to get you clean."

 _That damn big-titted pervert!_ Ranma howled, most of his mind consumed with thoughts of getting her back for this somehow. Though there was that tiny part of his mind which was wondering how to thank her… But the sheer sensation of what Akitsu was doing to him soon overwhelmed Ranma's ability to think at all, his instincts to flee or even to keep a certain distance between him and Akitsu gone for now.

Akitsu didn't speak for a moment, her entire being concentrating on cleaning Ranma. She used her breasts to wash his back, her breath beginning to come in short gasps as the friction of her nipples and breasts against Ranma's chiseled back began to have an effect. But Akitsu was more concerned about actually cleaning Ranma than her own pleasure, and she moved away slightly, using her hands to wash Ranma's sides.

She moved to his sides, washing his arms one after another before kneeling directly between Ranma's legs, washing them as well, once more using her breasts as Uzume's book had shown up until his knees. The sensation once again caused her to gasp, while Ranma threw his head back, shuddering and trying hard not to stare at what was going on.

From there and up she used her hands, but when she began to reach under Ranma's towel his brain came back online. Blushing hotly and trying desperately to concentrate on Akitsu's face rather than the vision of her chest so close he took her hands in his, pushing them away. "E, enough Akitsu, ya, ya said you wanted to talk a-about something serious, so talk."

"This is what I wanted to talk about, Ranma." Akitsu said, reaching up with a gentle, pale hand to turn Ranma's face back to her when he looked away. When their eyes locked, blue on light gray she paused, almost visibly martialing her thoughts despite pressing her breasts into Ranma's stomach in a way that was distracting both of them. "Sekirei might be somewhat submissive to their Ashikabi, but to me, it is also a personal choice."

Ranma made to interrupt but Akitsu covered his mouth very gently, before going back to wash his chest, blushing very visibly now as her hands caressed his chest. Ranma didn't have a lot of heavy muscles, but he had a wiry strength that was frankly incredible, like steel cables underneath a thin covering of skin. His skin felt amazing under her fingers, his muscles twitching under her touch like nothing she had ever felt before.

But when she spoke her voice was still serious. "I want to serve you Ranma it is just, the books Uzume-san called it a fetish, a personal preference. But that is not the only reason I wish to be close to you, wish to obey you."

She paused again, marshaling her thoughts once more. "Ahh… I was indoctrinated like all my sisters to obey my Ashikabi. But as a lower number, I could still disobey a command, I have a strong will Ranma, do not doubt that." She looked up, and her grey eyes found Ranma's once again, and he nodded after only a second.

When he did, she smiled and went on. "But you have to understand, after my ability to Bond was broken, I was lost, alone in a very cold, dark world. You gave me warmth again when you offered to help me, to be my Ashikabi regardless of my being Broken."

"Stop that!" Ranma said almost angrily, reaching down to grab both of Akitsu's hands in one of his as he gripped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes this time. "Stop saying you're broken, you're not broken, there's nothing wrong with you! Someone else might have done something to your ki to block it up, but that can be fixed, don't let the idea that its permanent effect your mind or how you act Akitsu."

For a moment Akitsu was silent, staring into Ranma's eyes, then nodded. When Ranma let go of her chin, looking away with a blush at his forwardness, Akitsu leaned her head forward against Ranma's chest. "You see Ranma, you make me **warm**. You care about me, when others, like that little boy from when we first met, would only care about me as a tool."

The two of them were quiet for a few minutes then Akitsu moved back slightly. Standing up, Akitsu pulled Ranma to his feet, pulling him over to the bath. She entered first, and motioned Ranma to sit in front of her in the bath. For a moment Ranma hesitated then at Akitsu's pleading expression he nodded and, very carefully holding his towel in place, stepped into the bath, leaning back against Akitsu. He stiffened when he felt her pebble hard nipples rubbing against his back, and heard her low moaning sigh. But he settled down when all Akitsu did was hold him lightly.

After a moment she spoke again. "Ranma, I do not know if I love you as humans understand things. The Bond is supposed to tell us who we care for, who our destined one is. Without it, all I have is my own emotions and desires. I do know I care and am attracted to you Ranma, and I enjoy being close to you like this. I am a Sekirei, we desire to be close to others, to our Ashikabi, or in this case the individual I care for, you. I am not a normal woman, who would desire to get to know you better or take my time, I already know all I need to about you and with this game I know our time together might be short."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Ranma growled. "Don't set that in stone in your mind either Akitsu-chan, okay?"

She nodded, hugging Ranma to her slightly tighter for a moment. They were silent for a moment then Akitsu spoke up again. "I won't push too far Ranma-sama, but I would like to serve you like this when we bathe, and be close to you physically otherwise."

"I, I suppose I can go along with that. Just, just don't push, and, when you have something to say, speak up please?" Ranma asked, taking her hands in his and twinging their fingers together. "If we're going to do this, if you want me to be your Ashikabi now and when we figure out a way to heal your ability to Bond, whatever the heck that really is or means, then I want you to be your own person, not just a slave."

"Ahh…My preferences will not change Ranma…" Akitsu sighed, but nodded. "But elsewhere, I will try to speak up more."

The two of them soaked for about fifteen minutes in silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one, despite Ranma still blushing at their close contact. It was with a surprising amount of reluctance that Ranma pushed himself out of the water, holding his towel in place once more. It slipped as he lifted his leg out of the bath though, and Akitsu let loose a little gasp. "Big…"

Ranma turned to look at her, eyebrow raised, but Akitsu didn't reply simply blushing slightly and standing up, causing Ranma to look away again. This time however Akitsu knew he had looked and liked it. She was content with that, a small smile appearing on her face as the two of them left the bathing area. When they left the bathing area Ranma looked at her, then up the stairs and into the sitting room before sighing. "Come on Akitsu-chan, let's head to bed."

Akitsu's eyes widened slightly and she followed Ranma with her smile widening as she did.

 **OOOOOOO**

"Excuse me sir, but could you tell me where to go to get Tokyo?"

 **End Chapter**

* * *

Remember this Ranma hasn't been programmed to run at moments like this, and he also knows, at least somewhat, about boys and girls, he just has no idea what to do with those feelings. And no, Taka-chan is NOT Tatewaki, it is for Namiji's canon Ashikabi, Takano Kouji.

Other than that I have to say that this story isn't going quite as I thought it would. I am getting bogged down somewhat in the character interactions, and the main plot is going slowly both because of that, and because I have to space out the plot points in terms of time to allow a more thorough integration of the two worlds. I think I need to rework my overall timeline before taking this story up again, so I won't be putting it on the poll for next month. It might be back in December unless one of the other stories grabs my attention and won't let go.

The next poll will be up this weekend, so be on the look out for it. Other than that, I am still having more DNS issues than I would like (hate Windows Ten, seriously) so if you spot any mistakes, please include them in your review or PM me.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Sekirei (which lets face it, has one of the worst main plots ever, of all time) or Ranma.

Further announcements will be at the end of the chapter.

This chapter has been betaed by ultimaflare0.

 **Chapter 5 Chaos Comes in Many Forms**

* * *

Grumbling irritably Genma pushed himself out of his futon. He'd decided to see if he could get in a dawn attack on his boy this morning by waking up before dawn. _Hopefully he's not only alone, but vulnerable. I can't let the boy go soft, not after all of the effort I put into training him up to this point. And if I train with him in the afternoon, that cuts down on the time I can spend whipping Soun into shape. I still can't believe Soun's let himself go so far, he can't even roofhop anymore!_

Setting that line of thought aside Genma got out of his futon, preparing to move over to Ranma's futon. He took a brief second to look outside, noticing that it was still raining, and it didn't look like it would be letting up anytime soon. When he turned back to Ranma's bed he stopped, his face flushing, unseen in the dark, as blood rushed up to his brain and down to other areas he had considered unimportant for years.

Not only had Ranma not slept alone, but Akitsu had somehow wriggled out of all her clothing this time. That alone would have been enough to cause Genma to stop. But she had also just stood up, rolling out of futon for a moment and moving towards the door completely naked.

Genma's movement had roused Akitsu from her almost somnambulistic walk. She turned and saw the older Saotome looking at her and felt not irritation, not fright, but something else, something she couldn't quite put her name on as the man looked at her. It wasn't a good feeling whatever it was, and as blood erupted from the man's nose she lashed out with the full force of her power.

Suddenly that entire section of the room was covered in a solid block of ice, capturing the older martial artist in its icy grip. Before the spray of blood from his nose could start to fall Genma was trapped within the ice along with his futon and the wall behind him. The sudden cold of the ice could be felt in the main bedroom on the other side of that wall. There Soun actually shuddered in his sleep, rolling away from the wall quickly.

After regaining control of herself Akitsu went on her way to the toilet then came back and paused frowning before getting back into bed with her Ashikabi. Genma was still there, still trapped in the ice, his blood frozen and part of the surrounding ice. The splash of red was actually rather pretty in comparison to the rest of the quite ugly statue.

But Genma was still facing towards her and Ranma's futon and Akitsu realized that she didn't like that. To correct this Akitsu reached forward, the ice subsiding around most of the room only remaining in a block form around Genma and the blood from his nose. With that done Akitsu gently picked up the statue, and turned it around so that Genma faced the wall before getting back into the futon.

 _So, so cold…_ Genma thought, even as he began to try to break out of the ice. But it was so close he couldn't get any leverage, and without that he lacked the strength to break out all at once. He still began to free his hands and toes however, and the ice slowly began to melt now that Akitsu was no longer concentrating on it.

This was the scene Kasumi walked into about an hour later, intent on finding Akitsu and getting her to help make breakfast. Akitsu had proven to be a quick study in the kitchen, and given the amount of food the three guests ate, Kasumi only felt it right to ask Akitsu to help, especially since Kasumi's younger siblings were so ill-suited to the task.

Kasumi halted a step into the room, staring first at the ice statue, then over to the futon. Sighing faintly she put two and two together quickly, and moved over to shake Ranma gently, since he had again hugged Akitsu to him, currently her, with Ranma's arms lightly clasped around the taller girl's waist. "Akitsu, it's time to get up."

If anyone else had tried this, they would've found themselves either implanted in a nearby wall, or in a chokehold slowly losing consciousness. Kasumi however simply gave off no dangerous vibes at all, and so was able to slip past Ranma's normal sleep-fu defense, though Akitsu glaring at her for waking her up almost made up for it. Kasumi however merely smiled at the other woman, and said softly, "Come on, I need your help with breakfast, and later you and I are going to have a talk Akitsu-chan. It's not appropriate to let someone look at you like that."

Akitsu blinked. "Why?"

Kasumi actually smiled for a moment, gesturing back over her shoulder at the now rapidly thawing Genma. "Well, did it make you feel good when Genma-san looked at you? I presume that's what happened last night?"

Akitsu too glanced at the statue, frowning and holding out her hand, renewing her power just in case he tried to break out. Slowly she got out of futon very, very reluctantly, the movement of her body slowly waking up Ranma to the feel of her breasts pressing into her own and then down her body.

 _Oh my God what, how'd she get naked!?_ One panicking part of Ranma's mind thought, while another part sensed another person in the room. _Oh please let that be Kasumi and not Akane!_

This hope was actually proven true a second later to Ranma's great relief as he heard Kasumi's voice. "That feeling is called shame, or perhaps shyness. It is why it is inappropriate for you to be walking around naked, or as you have done at least twice without your underwear."

Akitsu shook her head, her voice somewhat back to hit's hesitant manner, but not quite. "Ahh, I understand. But why can I not sleep with my Ashikabi-sama? What is wrong with that?"

"That ties back into the idea of shyness, as well as the twin topics of modesty and appropriate behavior." Kasumi said while holding out some of the clothing Akitsu had discarded in the night. Akitsu took it and began to dress as Kasumi continued speaking. "There isn't anything technically wrong with it, except your relationship is so new."

"I understand that relationships among Sekirei are different than among humans," the honey-colored brunette said, holding up a hand as Akitsu made to speak. "But this is a human house, and thus you should abide by human rules. And even if you had been dating for months, you still shouldn't sleep naked, not until you're married. Moreover, you're not alone in this room," Kasumi finished, gesturing again towards the statue which had again begun to thaw as Genma was now once more trying to break out. "You not only have to think about your own feelings, but the feelings of the other people around you and how they will react to you."

Akitsu frowned thoughtfully. "He attacks my Ashikabi," she said, trying a different tack.

"He's done that my whole life Akitsu," Ranma said softly from behind her, causing Akitsu to turn, moving to the side of the futon quickly to take her normal place beside her. Ranma actually smiled slightly at that, patting one of her hands as she pushed herself upright to stare over Akitsu's head at the statue of his father with the amusing amount of blood coming out of his nose frozen solid. "The bloods rather pretty like that, the rest not so much," the redhead quipped.

Kasumi giggled, while the still immobile Genma vowed vengeance. "But, er, while I don't mind, that is I kinda like sleeping with you, er, just sleeping with you, or, um or else I wouldn't have, have offered to let you join me last night," Ranma went on, now somewhat stuttering her words. Talking about emotions and attraction and stuff like that was still very foreign to him, despite Miya's having helped him become so much better expressing himself in junior high. "But this isn't just my room, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable or make other people uncomfortable, okay?"

Akitsu paused, staring at her then over to Kasumi before looking back at Ranma and slowly nodding, looking somehow depressed despite her face not changing at all. "All right. I will no longer try to sleep in your futon."

"Good," Kasumi said with a clap of her hands. "Now, come with me, we need to start on breakfast." That perked Akitsu right up as Kasumi had hoped and the Ice Sekirei stood up, before looking at her master.

"I'll try to free Genma here and see you two downstairs," Ranma said moving over to the statue.

Akitsu nodded, and moved to the door. Kasumi made to follow and Ranma said swiftly, "Kasumi, I swear, she wasn't naked when we went to bed last night. I just, I thought she needed some, um, some affection, I guess, because of a talk we had last night."

"I understand and I'm not judging," Kasumi replied. "I just don't want her naked with you in alone in the room. It's not appropriate." She giggled, winking at the younger 'girl'. "Not yet anyway."

With that Kasumi left the now spluttering Ranma and followed Akitsu out the door. Once alone Ranma turned to her old man, scratching at her chin thoughtfully. "So Pops, should I leave you like that, break you out or take pictures and then break you out?"

The ice block seemed to rumble in place for a moment, and Ranma grinned, pulling out a small camera from her bag. "Take pictures then break you out it is."

About half an hour later Nabiki stumbled out of her room in her normal pre-coffee Zombie mode, stumbling down the stairs as her primitive higher functions couldn't detect any coffee on the small table outside her room. She tripped further down the staircase, missing a step when there was a loud crash and a banging sound elsewhere in the house. "You'll pay for that boy!"

She would have tumbled forward but she was caught by Akitsu, who Kasumi had sent up the stairs with a cup of coffee a bare minute before. Akitsu held the cup of coffee under Nabiki's nose, watching as the girl's face seemed to slowly regain some life, then Nabiki's hands flashed faster than Akitsu could track, grabbing the cup and raising it to her lips greedily. Once more Nabiki seemed able to ignore the scalding nature of the coffee, which had actually been rather too hot for Akitsu's hands, though Akitsu bore it stoically.

A few seconds later, actual intelligence returned to Nabiki eyes, and she smiled thankfully at Akitsu. "Thanks Akitsu, honestly, I don't know why but mornings are **really** hard."

She took the cup from Akitsu and began to sip at it further as Akitsu nodded, about to turn away before she turned back, a thought occurring to her given Kasumi's lecture earlier. She gestured at Nabiki's chest. "Modesty," she said simply then turned away.

Nabiki blinked before glancing down at herself realizing not only that she was not wearing a bra underneath her overly large button up shirt, said shirt had opened in the front, giving any man there a very decent glimpse of her cleavage, and one of her nipples to boot. She quickly pulled it shut, looking around her with a blush on her face, breathing deeply as she realized that Ranma hadn't been with Akitsu.

 _Highly unusual, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth_. Nabiki paused at that, then laughed quietly, shaking her head while her free hand worked on her shirt button.

At just that moment Ranma came in, still in his female form but now drenched and grumbling to herself. Nabiki noticed that the redhead wasn't exactly being modest at the moment either, her clothing literally stuck to her form in a way that left little to the imagination, showing off a pair of breasts that a lot of grown women Nabiki knew would commit murder for. She paused, looking at Nabiki, and nodding. "If you're out here I hope that means the bath's free?"

Nabiki nodded then paused holding up a hand. "Wait, I'll go check first, I've already heard one loud crash today… I think…" she paused. "That happened before I had my coffee intake, so I'm not certain. But I really don't want the house damaged or anything if Akane is in there and takes offense."

The redhead shivered a little, then leaped forward dramatically hugged Nabiki. "B, but, you'll save me won't you?!" _Hmm, might have been spending too much time with Uzume, essh, she's already effecting my sense of humor, not good._

Nabiki gave Ranma a very deadpan look, and the shorter redhead pouted up at her before hopping away with a smirk on her face. "I'll agree to that in the interest of intra-family peace I suppose," Nabiki replied after a moment with her own smirk.

"Akane really needs to grow out of the idea that she's any kind of real threat, or that I'm a pervert. I don't like the way she sometimes glares at Akitsu and me." Ranma replied, somewhat more seriously.

"I have a theory that she was dropped on her head at some point as a toddler but that's just me," Nabiki said, walking away still smirking and shaking her head at the other girl.

Luckily the bathroom was free, and Ranma was both able to change back into his male form, and actually had a peaceful breakfast, staring out into the rain still coming down. "Ugh, I think I'm gonna call in sick today…"

"Don't bother, the school's closed," Nabiki said, shaking her head as she looked up from where she had just been on the phone. "Tornado warning apparently, a mild one, but given the damage your last two fights with Kuno did to the main building, they probably want the extra day to repair the school anyway."

She shook her head, smirking over at Ranma. "I wish I had known that, we could have sold your Martial Arts construction technique and made both a killing and good publicity. People would pay even better for a girl being able to do that kind of thing, especially in the rain."

"Don't even think it, I already agreed to let you take pictures of my female form, I am not going to do more than that," Ranma replied quickly. 'Still, since I'm not due to be at Miya's until later, and I'm in no hurry to go out in this at all let alone where Kuno or any would be Ashikabi could see me, what should we do for the day?"

"Go back to bed?" Nabiki replied seriously.

"Train?" Genma 'suggested' poking his son in the shoulder, who grinned at the older man, turning with a nod.

Akane looked up from her own meal eagerly. "Does that mean you can train with me too?"

"Hmm, let's have you and Akitsu spar together a few times. Your father and I will interrupt and correct your forms as you go." Genma said. "We'll intersperse each match between you two with one between me and the boy."

Akane scowled at the idea of interrupting her spars like that, but nodded anyway, eager to get whatever kind of instruction she could get. "Good let's get to it then, right after breakfast!" _I'll catch up to Ranma soon enough, and then prove I'm the strongest girl in Nerima, real or no!_

This thought stayed with her for the rest of the weekend, which was dominated by a near constant downpour. Every day she would spar with Akitsu, most of the time winning, though it began to get harder as time went on. Her instruction didn't go very well a lot of the time, Akane's temper getting in the way of listening to either parent, so the plan changed to give her and Akitsu the morning to spar, with Soun alone watching as referee, while Genma and Ranma trained together.

They would then break and instruct the two girls for a time until Ranma and Akitsu left to head to Miya's. In the evenings they would return for dinner, where they talked with Kasumi and afterward watched movies with the Tendo sisters as the old men drank the house dry.

The rain never became a full-fledged tornado, but it was certainly a very wet, damp and somewhat miserable weekend. The rain even put a damper on the Sekirei Plan, not a single fight occurred that weekend and only two wingings. Even Izumo House was effected, though there was still one incident, which occurred when Ranma decided to repair the splice tied into the heater's power unit.

He and Akitsu arrived, with Akitsu helpfully carrying the equipment he would need. Miya met them at the door and Ranma explained what he wanted to do, carefully setting aside the umbrella which had allowed him to retain his male body. "Since I know ya won't train with me outside, and I don't honestly want to either. Although, ya could come back with me and meet the Tendos at their place…"

Miya chuckled, one hand covering her mouth as she did, shaking her head. "I think not Ranma. I would feel remiss in my duties to my tenants if I left like that, and besides, I would much rather meet your father again on my own ground rather than possibly friendly ground towards him." There was also the fact Miya knew such a move on her part would have MBI screaming in fear and possibly overreacting to her leaving the north of the city and going so far away from Izumo House.

Ranma nodded, and asked, "So, have you decided if I should just cut off all that power, or figure out a way to add another few runs to the rest of the house's electrical runs? I still don't know why someone, you said his name was Seo? I still don't know why they did it the way they did."

"When that individual moved in, hiding her presence was a necessity even her power usage might well have told MBI where she was." Miya replied. "It is still an issue in many ways, but not nearly as much as it once was."

 _And if MBI wishes to take Matsu or the jinki from me, they are welcome to try. I am no longer so grief stricken I could not act in her defense, so long as I believed it was warranted at any rate._

Just then their talk was interrupted by a shout from the second floor. "I know you're in there! God dammit stop taking up so much of the bandwidth you hentai pervert!"

"That sounded almost like Kocho," Ranma mused, moving after Miya as she made her way down the hall toward the stair case.

They found the silver-haired woman pounding on the wall of the second-floor corridor, her mannerisms a stark contrast to her normal mature-seeming appearance. "Come on! I can't even download my games! You're not the only one who needs access to the internet anymore!"

"There's no one here!" shouted a voice from inside, sounding querulous and harried. "And even if there were, what I'm doing with the bandwidth is far more important than what you would be doing with it you gamer otaku!"

"Better a gamer then a hentai!" Kocho shot back, her glasses gleaming for some reason as she glared at the wall and presumably through it to whoever she was talking to. "I know precisely what you're doing, you think your firewall is able to stop me from seeing your video downloads or worse what sites you're visiting!?"

"Ararara, this sounds like an interesting discussion," Miya said, one hand on her chin as she walked up behind Kocho on silent feet. "Perhaps we should talk about it in more depth. Matsu-san, come out here please."

"M, Miya-sama, I swear I don't know what she's talking about!" Stammered the voice. "And, and you know I can't be seen during the day!"

"If MBI has any surveillance cameras currently trained on us I will destroy them, but I wish to speak to you face to face, not face to door." Miya replied firmly. "Now get out here, or else I'm coming in there."

Without waiting for the voice to reply Ranma gripped the door and looked at Miya, who nodded and he pulled the door open. The hidden latch broke under his pull, and the door flew wide. Ranma made a mental note to repair that later as he peered inside.

The room beyond the doorway was very dimly lit by the light of several computer screens, without a single window, but one overhead light which was currently off. in the center of this mass of electronics and wires was a bed, upon which a woman with large coke-bottle glasses and a white shift of some kind knelt facing the door. "Gah, why'd you do that!"

"Miya-nee asked you to come out, now come out and take yer punishment. Then maybe we can sit down and figure out how to share whatever this bandwidth is as well as the inn's electricity fairly, rather than stealing it and not lettin' anyone else share." Ranma replied dryly.

"Thank you for that Ranma-san, now if you could go and cut that power source off, I wish to talk to Matsu-san here about what she's been doing while living under my roof…" Miya said, the Hanya mask appearing behind her as she stalked into the room.

Later that day, Ranma was formally introduced to Matsu, Sekirei number 2, who was hiding here for reasons he didn't care to inquire about after learning she wasn't interested in physical combat. She and Kocho had an hour long argument about who had the better claim to the limited electricity of the house, with Ranma and Uzume watching with amusement as Miya tried to mediate. Finally Matsu was forced to agree to share the bandwidth for the internet equally, and to shut down two of her five computers to save electricity while Ranma agreed to set up more permanent runs to her room and an extra to Kocho's, as well as putting up a new cable box. In return both she and Kocho had to pay half again as much rent on a monthly basis.

Throughout this discussion, Matsu kept glancing at Ranma, not as if she was reacting to him, but as if she couldn't figure him out. Which, Miya supposed, made sense, given how she hadn't ever seen anything about him beyond his scholastic record.

Ranma too noticed the glances, as did Akitsu near the end of the discussion, though she did not realize what was behind them. In reply Akitsu's power reached out, making the air around the table grow cold for a moment as she moved to sit almost in Ranma's lap as she stared across at Matsu.

"Ara, none of that Akitsu-chan," Miya said smacking the ice Sekirei upside the head with her ladle lightly. "I don't think Matsu-san is reacting to Ranma, are you?"

"Gah, no! I'd never react to a Luddite like him! I doubt he's ever owned a cell phone in his life, let alone would know what to with a hacker like me." Matsu replied, before smirking slightly and throwing her chest out. "Or a woman like me, unless you've already taken care of that Aki-chan?"

Akitsu's face remained blank, but the temperature dropped once more. "Do not call me Aki-chan." She replied, and Ranma smiled. Wasn't so long ago that Akitsu wouldn't have said anything, now she was speaking up and willing to threaten someone else on so small a thing as a nickname.

"Now is that because you don't like the name, or because you don't want anyone to call you that but bro here?" Uzume teased.

"Both," Akitsu replied quickly, moving back to retake her position slightly behind and to one side of Ranma as Uzume laughed.

Ranma blushed but remained looking back across the table at Matsu. "So you got a problem with me because I don't like technology? Or because of something else?"

Matsu looked away, growling. She didn't like to admit that she had no knowledge whatever about Ranma before he showed up here. She hadn't even known he had interacted with Miya and Takehito before that. He and his father had both come out of nowhere, and now she was being forced to reevaluate a lot of urban myths, rumors and tall tales to see if there was anything behind them. Worse however was the curse. "I, your curse, I'm sort of a scientist as well as a tech geek, and the idea of magic bothers me even knowing about Sekirei powers."

"Ah, gotcha. No worries there," Ranma replied, buying it completely. "You're not the first to say something about that aspect of my curse. Though I can't say I can see much of a difference between what you all can do and the curse."

Matsu nodded, having already had that argument with herself. "It'll just take some getting used to, and I'm honestly not that good with meeting new people anyway." Her face then turned perverted, her hands coming up and making grasping motions. "Huhuhuhu, Although I'd love to experiment on you, see if you're as… endowed as a man as you are gifted in your female form…"

Akitsu's eyes narrowed even as she fought a blush. She could, after all have answered that question in the affirmative. Nonetheless she would have acted and possibly skewered the perverted technomancer with ice spears except that Miya's Hanya mask had just appeared behind the landlady, and to a level heretofore unforeseen.

It now bled blood from the eyes, and there was a sound barely discernible of clacking wooden slates as the mask seemed to loom over Miya. Who, in turn, had stood up over Matsu, her eyes now shadowed by her hair. "Illicit activities are forbidden in Izumo House!" _Especially between you and the boy who is my younger brother in all but blood you hentai Megane!_

Everyone, even Ranma had backed away at this new manifestation, with Uzume leaping over the table to hide behind the pigtailed martial artist. Akitsu had already taken cover there, burrowing into his back, while Uzume started to rock in place muttering, "Oh my god, what's with the noise, seriously what's with the noise!?"

The individual who was the actual target of Miya's terror technique had gone bleach white, and was now kowtowing as fast as she could, squealing, "I'm Sorry, I'm sorry, it was a joke, it was just a joke, I won't do anything, I promise!"

Miya continued to glare at Matsu for a few moments before the hanya mask disappeared. "Very good. If you do try anything, or break my rules again, I will not hesitate to tossing you out of Izumo House, is that understood?" Matsu nodded, her forehead still pressed into the floor and the discussion continued.

The animosity between the two technomancers flared up later that evening, forcing Miya to once again come between them, as they had taken to attacking one another's systems via the shared internet connection. Ranma however came up with a solution: an information and wargame battle. The two would compete and they each had to score a outright victory over the other in one another's areas of strength. This shut them both down, since while Matsu had more talent in hacking, she was absolute pants at most strategy games. Kocho in turn was not quite as good as Matsu was at hacking or defending her own systems from attack.

Ranma knew this was a short term solution, the two girls seemed to have a genuine, if rather childlike dislike of one another, but it kept the peace in the inn which was all Miya cared about. Ranma couldn't care less about their issues with one another so long as they didn't make more work for him which would take time away from training. If it did, Ranma warned that he would feel justified in destroying the computers they were so fond of. Much screaming and shouting later, they had both agreed to his terms.

Still, that was the only incident over the weekend and Ranma and the others of the Tendo household woke up Monday morning eager to see a sky that didn't have torrential rain falling on them from it. Others two went into school that Monday with a chipper attitude, though theirs were only peripherally based on the lack of rain.

 **OOOOOOO**

Namiji was on cloud nine as she practically danced into school Monday. Her prospective lover Takano Koji had allowed her to move in with him! And winged her right there on his couch after an **amazingly** romantic dinner! And then, because of the amount of rain they had gotten, the two of them had stayed inside for all of Friday and the rest of the weekend. Their bonding had reached its logical conclusion, and she had left him dehydrated and unconscious that morning.

 _Nothing can harsh my buzz right now!_ She thought happily, waving enthusiastically at the friends she had made her way over the damp ground toward St. Hebereke's main building.

"Oho, you seem happy this morning Namiji-chan," said a voice behind her

Namiji turned, bowing quickly. "Kodachi-senpai! How are you this morning?" Namiji replied respectfully, looking at the slightly older student that had addressed her.

Kodachi Kuno was a tallish girl built with the same athletic, svelte frame as Namiji. She was currently wearing the same uniform as Namiji, a brown skirt and white blouse combo that in the Sekirei's opinion was designed to be about as sexual as a paper bag, her long black hair done up in a long ponytail that trailed along her back. Kodachi's eyes were sharp and assessing, her expression currently somewhere between its normal haughty expression and amused as she stared at the younger girl, one well-manicured eyebrow raised in query.

"I'm quite happy today actually, though perhaps that is just your reflected glory," Kodachi said archly, taking her kohai by the elbow and gently turning her around back towards the school. "What has you in such a good mood Namiji-chan? Have you finally broken that boy, Takano was it, out of his rather silly concept that you would be enslaving yourself to him if he let you kiss him?"

While like her fellow Sekirei Namiji had been told to keep the Sekirei Plan a secret, it had proven impossible. Kodachi had called her out on her more than human physical abilities, coupled with a severe lack of education and formal training after drubbing Namiji in a sparring match a week after she joined the rhythmic gymnastics team. Once tied up in ribbon that was stronger than steel and dangling from the roof, Namiji had found it remarkably easy to tell Kodachi of her inhuman status. To her surprise the older girl didn't care at all about it, only that she had skill in Rhythmic Gymnastics and was willing to put in the effort to become even better.

"Y-Yes! I was able to convince him, and we spent the entire weekend together, it was so romantic!" Namiji gushed nodding at a few of her other teammates on the rhythmic gymnastics team as they came over to listen. "I could have wished that it took more than my being attacked yesterday to do it but…"

"Wait!" Kodachi said sharply, grabbing Namiji's arm again and turning Namiji around to stare at her face. "You were attacked! Are you hurt, where did it happen?"

"Oh don't worry senpai! It didn't amount to anything. I was rescued by two people passing by." Namiji replied hurriedly. While Kodachi recognized fighting was a necessary part of the Sekirei game, she was not happy at the thought of her most promising student/team member injuring herself outside sanctioned Rhythmic martial arts matches. She had even made noises about hunting any such attackers down before this.

"You were attacked by other Sekirei such as yourself and you were then saved by two regular citizens?" Kodachi asked, noticeably confused.

"Yes, I can understand why that would sound strange, though they weren't normal by any means. It went like this…" From there Namiji went on to explain what it happened the day before, with the ice Sekirei Akitsu showing up along with her apparent boyfriend-nee Ashikabi.

"And you say this ice Sekirei would not be able to truly bond like your people can? That's rather sad," Kodachi said cocking her head thoughtfully.

She was ambivalent about the whole Sekirei situation. Yes, they were well above human norm, but that was all they were. They seemed normal mentally outside the odd fixation on their Ashikabi. And she had yet to meet many of them anyway. Her little kohai was the only one on the rhythmic gymnastics team to give Kodachi a run for her money because she was a bit faster and a bit stronger, but those natural abilities didn't automatically mean Namiji was actually **better** than Kodachi.

She was not as skilled as Kodachi, and she was completely unable to hide weapons like Kodachi could. The concept of a ki space, which was one of the things that Kodachi had learned when becoming serious about rhythmic gymnastics from her teacher before she died, seemed to elude Namiji entirely.

"I don't think so, but then again senpai I didn't think humans could hide weapons as long as their forearms in a skirt pocket," Namiji replied with a smirk on her face. "So who knows, maybe someone will be able to fix Akitsu's ability to bond."

"Of course you're amazed by that, everything about me is amazing Namiji-chan, HOHOhohoho!" Kodachi replied, laughing and turning her nose up haughtily.

Namiji giggled taking Kodachi's attitude in stride, and the two of them entered the building as the other members of the team came forward. They too had questions, though they centered more on Namiji's new Ashikabi and what they had been doing that weekend.

While the questions became rather vulgar in her opinion Kodachi tuned them out, thinking hard about what she'd just heard. She'd rather like to have a boyfriend, Kodachi had never had one and romance and such like was of course interesting to her as a girl. _Pity, this Ranma fellows sounded interesting, but if he has already met a Sekirei, I doubt I would have much luck._

Kodachi knew she was good looking, that was not up for debate. But she certainly wasn't up to Sekirei level. _Their race seems to have a special understanding with gravity when it came to its impact on the body. If I had breasts like that one I saw two nights past in that rather daring purple outfit my back would be crippled within a week._

 _Still, it couldn't help to look into the two them, if only to thank them for helping my kohai. And if it looks as if this Ice-wielding Sekirei hasn't truly staked a claim, then perhaps this Ranma will be interesting enough to earn my actual attention..._

 **OOOOOOO**

That morning Nabiki didn't have anything planned at school so walked with Ranma and Akane talking to Ranma as he walked along the top of the fence post, while Akane walked on Nabiki's other side.

Akane was watching the two of them like a hawk, scowling irritably at Ranma occasionally, still annoyed by how often Ranma did things that showed off his talents, and that those talents were well beyond her abilities. _Put it out of your mind Akane,_ she thought to herself. _Remember, daddy's already begun training you, you'll catch up in no time. You'll catch up to them soon._

But putting that point aside only made her see how much Ranma seemed to favor hanging around Nabiki over her despite Akane being the martial artist in the family. Not that she wanted Ranma to pay attention to her like that of course. But it just didn't make sense to her unless he wanted to do perverted things to Nabiki, hence why Akane was currently watching him like a hawk.

"Why are you up there anyway?" Nabiki asked, looking up at where Ranma was balancing on the rail of the fence beside her. She had watched him move just as easily over that thin rail as the heavy stone walls beside it, and she couldn't help but be impressed.

Ranma shrugged. "A few reasons. One is balance practice as you can see," he said, flipping to his hands and moving along on them as easily as he had on his feet.

"Show off." Akane muttered.

"So does that mean you could do it little sister and you're just choosing not to, or…" Nabiki drawled, breaking off with a smirk sent Akane's way as her younger sister glared at her, before turning back to Ranma. "And the other reasons?"

"Habit's a bit of it I suppose, this is how my old man trained me for as long as I can remember. Then there's the fact that up here I can see more of the area around me, always an important thing if I think I might have trouble. And I like the view too." Ranma sent a upside down smirk at Nabiki when he said that. "Not everything's about martial arts with me, just most things."

This caused her to blush slightly but then she realized that he hadn't meant the comment to be taken like that. In a desperate attempt to change the subject before her younger sister could notice her blush however, Nabiki asked quickly, "How long would it take someone like me to learn that?"

After flipping himself upright and walking on his feet once more Ranma looked Nabiki up and down. "Well you're in really good shape, like I've said before, so there's no physical reason you shouldn't be able to balance like this eventually unless you have issues with balance normally. And I don't think you do, at least I've seen no sign of that kind of thing outside of when your coffee-less in the morning."

Nabiki laughed then gasped as Ranma suddenly jumped down behind her, lifting her up by her waist and hopping back up onto the fence post. "Try it now. Don't worry, I'll be here if ya need me" he said, stepping back slightly his arms going from around her waist to just resting his hand on her waist.

There was nothing even flirtatious about that touch really given the Furinkan uniform and how still Ranma kept his hands. But Nabiki could not remember the last time a boy had ever touched her and found herself blushing slightly.

"Go on," Ranma said, cocking his head quizzically at her, "walk."

Shaking her head again at the diea of anyone being so familiar with her like this Nabiki began to walk forward along the fence post. Below them Akane continued to glare up at them, her fingers twitching. Her sister's blush and glare her way was the only thing stopping Akane from attacking Ranma for being a pervert grabbing her sister like that. That, and the little voice in her head telling her that Ranma actually hadn't done anything perverted. Stupid and rather sudden, yes, but that was just Ranma being Ranma.

The three of them continued on their way silently as Ranma continued to hold Nabiki by the waist, letting her walk forward, getting used to balancing and how to put one foot in front of the other. "Okay, now I'm going to let go," he said after they finished a small turn on the fence. "I'm still right here, you won't fall."

Nabiki slowly sent a nod over her shoulder, having actually been enjoying this, and not just the feel of Ranma's hands on her sides like that. A few steps on however she stopped, frowning. "I just realized, I'm wearing a skirt!"

"So?" Ranma asked, frowning. "What's the point of that? There's no one down below you or anything."

"True but if I fall…"

"You won't fall," Ranma interrupted shaking his head. "I'm right here, I'll catch you."

Again Nabiki blushed slightly at how those words sounded, shaking her head internally. _God, what is he doing to me! Is it just because he's a guy who's paying attention to me like that? He hasn't done a single that he really meant as flirtatious except maybe touching my calf that one time at school. But even then it was more innocent than anything else. It's just his words and his attention that's all!_ But after having a lifetime of having no romantic interests whatsoever, it was still making her blush. _Gah!_

Akane's watching them was also causing Nabiki issues, making her want to burst out into laughter. Teasing Akane was easily one of her favorite pastimes and she could see Akane slowly coming to a boil, the sight of a boy touching Nabiki at all, and possibly the slightly flirtatious nature of the moment, beginning to overwhelm Akane's very limited self-control. _You would think after the past few days she would have learned not to lash out, but I'd bet a hundred yen that she'll lash out in under four minutes…_

"Now go a little faster," Ranma said. "Eventually you'll get to the point where you can run and still concentrate on your balance, then you'll start to not need to concentrate on your balance at all when you're walking, then slowly going faster and faster at naturally as possible."

"Pretty good for a first day at least," he said, obviously jinxing Nabiki since a mere second later she put a foot slightly wrong. She began to totter, and he quickly moved forward, his hands again grabbing her waist holding her steady. "See, I told you I wouldn't let you fall."

"You two need to cool off!" Akane shouted suddenly, grabbing a ladle from an old woman they just passed and splashing the ladle towards Ranma's face. Luckily for Akane her aim was true only catching Ranma in the face rather than both of them.

Nabiki felt the arm around her waist shift, becoming thinner and smaller, the heart muscled back pressing into hers so nicely suddenly becoming two protuberances pressed into her, and she shook her head. "That is really weird," she said, "I don't blame you or anything for it Ranma, either getting it or changing forms right now. But actually feeling the change like that is beyond bizarre."

"Heh, you should see what it feels like from in here." Ranma said pointing at her own head before hopping down with Nabiki still in her arms. She sighed, wiping at her wet face. "I really, **really** do not want to show up at school and this form! I don't want to see Kuno's response to it given how he's chasing after Akitsu and Akane already."

Even Akane looked a little green around the gills at that and she shook her head. "I'm going to go ahead and deal with the pervert brigade. Without interference this time," she said glaring at Ranma. "I suppose I, I also have to apologize, I thought you'd grabbed something else there when Nabiki lost her balance," she said, each word coming out is if it was like pulling teeth.

"Oh…I guess from your angle it might've looked like that…" he said diplomatically, knowing it really hadn't, but willing to go along with things.

Nabiki looked as if she wasn't so willing, but she wasn't wet either, and she eventually sighed, waving her sister on. Come on, I'll show you too Dr. Tofu."

"The guy that my old man's working with?"

"That's him. He's been our family doctor for since I was…" Nabiki paused, thinking. "Six or seven I think. Come on its on the way to school anyway."

"What is your sister's problem with me? I mean, I'm getting the impression there's a lot more behind her attitude towards me than just her irritation at my curse and my being better at in martial arts." Ranma asked, the two girls now walking side-by-side down a little side street towards the clinic in the distance with Akane nowhere in sight.

"It's not you, at least not beyond the facts you've already noticed. It's the boys at school and Akane's own preconceived notions." Nabiki replied coolly. She **really** didn't want to talk about her sister, but she knew Ranma had a right to know.

"I have no idea where it began, or which began first, Kuno's announcement to the school, or her own notions of what constituted perversion. But it is there, and you have to be aware of it, she will lash out and attack anything she sees as perverted, and you've seen her anger issues, that's been around at least since she was twelve or so I think."

"That doesn't tell me anything I didn't already know. So there's nothing I can do about her irritation towards me?" Ranma asked.

"Short of convincing your father to let you move out, no," Nabiki drawled. "She's going to keep watching you like a hawk because you're a boy and near her own age. Just be grateful she doesn't think you're getting up to anything perverted with your own female form. And that Akane thinks that Akitsu isn't so much a threat since she can beat her in hand to hand."

Ranma was about to answer but instead he suddenly turned, her hand flashing out with a punch that shattered a skeleton which had been sneaking up behind her. "W, what the heck!"

Behind the skeleton a young man, somewhere in his early thirties perhaps, crouched looking up with slightly wide eyes behind a pair of glasses. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "I was only trying to sneak up on you, you had no reason to destroy Betty like that."

"Betty?" Ranma asked blankly. "You **named** a skeleton?"

"Actually I think it was Akane who named it or perhaps Kasumi when she was a freshman at Furinkan," Nabiki said dryly. Then as the two men looked at her, or rather two men and one currently 'wo'man she held up her fingers in front of her chest, bowing her head in prayer. "Alas, poor Betty I knew her well."

"I see you still have your snarky sense of humor Nabiki," Dr. Tofu said, standing up and looking at the redhead thoughtfully. Tofu thought he had completely erased his presence, but the redhead's skill at sensing had surprised him. She was evidently a martial artist, he'd known that before trying to sneak up on her, but the redhead's senses were just as keen as her body seemed to be.

Ranma for her part was also looking at Dr. Tofu in interest. "You're a martial artist," she said bluntly nodding her head.

"Only a dabbler," Dr. Tofu said smiling and watched Ranma's eyes narrow, allowing a small smile to appear on his own face. "Can I ask what you two are here for, considering that schools going to start in…" he looked at his watch "About 10 minutes."

"Ranma here needs some hot water, "Nabiki said before looking over at Ranma. "When was the last time you had a physical?"

"A few years ago," Ranma said with a shrug. "I've never been sick a day in my life, so I don't really see the point of worrying about it, and if you're asking if I'm going to have a physical in this form, you can think again!"

"This form?" Dr. Tofu asked, leading the way into his clinic. He quickly gave Ranma a small glass of hot water, then watched in shock as the curse activated, watching as the redhead grew at least a foot and a half in height and her shoulders widened rather dramatically.

Ranma looked down at himself, frowning thoughtfully. "I might have to do more sword training in my female form, I hadn't noticed before but I am noticeably weaker in the shoulders and arms in that body."

"Why not turn it into an advantage?" Nabiki asked. "Train one body for speed one body for strength. Then when you switch, you can throw off your opponents."

"I was already doing that," Ranma said with a nod at Nabiki's grasp of tactics. "But a swordsman's muscles are slightly different than normal muscles, not much but slightly enough to be noticeable. It might slow me down if I am using a weapon at the time I change."

Nabiki shrugged ignorance. Just because she was a daughter of two martial artists hadn't made her an expert on such things, merely a decent observer. That had always been Akane's area of interest, or at least that was what Nabiki told herself. She shook off the odd memory of her father ignoring her in favor of training Akane, of losing any enthusiasm when her initial interest in it was not encouraged, ignored and overlooked by her father in favor of Akane's greater aptitude.

Instead she looked over at Dr. Tofu. "Have you ever seen anything like that before?" she asked. "I know you've traveled a lot."

Dr. Tofu shook his head. "I've seen a lot of interesting and even amazing things, and I have heard of Jusenkyou, but I've never seen one cursed there in person. Indeed, I thought them a myth, despite knowing that magic still existed in places."

"Don't suppose you've ever heard of a cure for it?" Ranma asked hopefully. Even if he had asked the guide and gotten a negative there except with a specific and long lost item coupled with the water of drowned man, it never hurt to ask.

"I'm afraid not, and I would be very, very careful about looking for one. The cursed springs are powerful phenomenon, it would take a lot of power to remove any such curse. You might find yourself in a worse position." Dr. Tofu warned, and Ranma nodded, having heard the same thing from the guide. "Was there anything else you wanted?"

"Actually doc now that you mention it, I'd like to bring someone else by. I'd like you to give her a physical." He looked over at Nabiki. "I'm not certain I trust MBI to have given Akitsu a physical, and if they well implanted anything I want to know about it."

"What made you think of that?" Nabiki asked surprised and rather impressed.

Ranma shrugged. "I've seen TV shows where they implant things in animals that monitor them in the wild, and the way MBI seems to look at the Akitsu and the others is sort of like they think of them as dangerous animals."

"Sekirei correct?" Dr. Tofu asked. "I've seen a few of them around outside of Nerima when I go to a few of my clients in the next ward over. They don't come into Nerima itself for some reason, though that might be because MBI doesn't own it outright like it does the rest of the city, certainly they never tried to get me to sell my lease to my clinic. Is there anything you want me to look at exactly?"

"My friend can use her ki, but she can't seem to access it all. There's some kind of block on it, coupled with a weird tattoo inscribed on her forehead. But if you can look at it, maybe we'll discover more."

When Dr. Tofu made to open his mouth, possibly to say something along the lines of not believing that ki existed Ranma held up a hand pointing a finger at him. "And don't give me that shit about you not believing in ki or anything like that, I can sense ki in you. Heck I bet you could even do a ki attack yourself if you tried."

Dr. Tofu sighed faintly, looking at Nabiki and Ranma, who had an interested look on her face. "I've seen Ranma do a ki attack Doctor, I know it exists."

The doctor nodded and held up a hand, which suddenly glowed slightly along one finger. "Yes, I can use some ki moves, no attacks though, that would go against my Hippocratic Oath. This tattoo you mention, how fine is the work on it? Can you see any symbols or anything of that nature within the tattoo itself?"

"No, nothing like that," Ranma said shaking his head.

"Interesting, there was a way to use tattoos inscribed directly over acupuncture points to stimulate those points or shut them down, but I haven't heard about anything matching your description. Well I'm not certain I'll be able to help, but bring her around on Thursday next week. I'll have several hours free, and we can do both of your physicals at once."

He held up a hand in turn when Ranma made to speak and the martial artist paused, allowing Tofu to go on. "If you haven't had a physical in a few years which means you're due, especially at your age Ranma. Your body is still growing, and you need to be aware of any problems as they arise."

"Fine," Ranma groused, turning to leave. "We'll see you then."

Listening to this Nabiki felt a tiny twinge of jealousy, a feeling she knew all too well thanks to her Akane being daddy's little darling. _Oh hell no, It's been less than two weeks since he arrived! No way could I have feelings for him already, nothing more than interest anyway._ "You're awfully concerned about Akitsu," she said, injecting a note of teasing rather than anger in her tone easily, smacking Ranma on the shoulder. "The ice maiden slowly thawing you out?"

Ranma blushed hotly looking away. "I, I know what, you know, attraction is." He smirked suddenly shaking his head. "I had the hugest crush on this anime character when I was growing up, and I know Akitsu's attractive and I know, I mean I like her well enough but I'm unwilling to go as fast as she wants to because I'm really worried about it only being because she latched onto me as the first person to accept her with that mark on her forehead."

Nabiki looked at him blankly, her feeling of jealousy subsiding quickly. "Moron."

"What, what did I say?" Ranma asked as the two of them walked out of the clinic.

"Nothing. I'm just feeling tired all of a sudden." Nabiki said shaking her head wearily. _If you think that, you are really dense, like concrete dense!_ She thought as she led the way to school via an alternate route that might get them there before the gates closed if they were quick.

 **OOOOOOO**

The two of them were of course seen entering the school together, and rumors began to circulate about how friendly the two of them were even faster than they had been doing already. A few of Nabiki's friends, both girls and boys were confused, startled and rather happy that Nabiki was showing interest in a guy. A few other girls were irritated that it meant Ranma was most definitely off the market. They might have been willing to chance things with just Akitsu, given the lack of information about their relationship, but not Nabiki.

Ranma forced himself to stay up for it the first few classes which after three days without the irritation of going to school was rather hard. He was even forced to use a bit of pencil at one point to keep awake by propping them open, knowing that Miya would be displeased with him, if she found out somehow that he was falling behind asleep again and unwilling to chance it. The fact that she was as close to a mother figure that he had coupled with the fact that Miya could withhold training gave her quite a big stick to beat him with even when she wasn't physically present.

Because of this, and the fact that Ranma had already learned he was behind in language arts class, math and science classes, Ranma was in a bit of a mood when lunch came around. Not even looking in Akane's direction or replying to anyone's attempt to talk to him, Ranma hopped out the window towards the same tree he'd been eating at since arriving at Furinkan, then up into its boughs.

Nabiki met him there, frowning up at where Ranma sat up in the tree growling to himself. "What's wrong?" She wondered if Ranma had been dealing with the same issues as she had fielding questions, both innocent and not about if they were together.

But no one had actually been brave enough to approach Ranma about that. His strength and seeming disinterest in making friends at school had kept most people from becoming interested in getting to know him. The girls were interested in his good looks but none were really interested in Ranma himself. There were also a few boys were interested in befriending him so as to get pictures of Akane at home, Nabiki's prices being far too high for all of them except on very rare occasions, but that was all.

Ranma shook his head. "I'm behind in my three of my classes. I couldn't even follow some of the things the teacher was saying in math class, and I have four chapters I need to read by next Monday to catch up! And essays I have to write for Language arts too, I've never even written an essay before!"

"Prepare for five paragraph hell," Nabiki said consolingly, reaching up to pat him on the leg as she shook her head. "If you need help with your essays, talk to Kasumi. She's really quite an excellent writer though you'll have to try hard to get her to admit it. I'll warn you now to not try to foist the work off on her somehow. Both Akane and I tried to get her to do our work for us a time or two, and trust me, the punishments Kasumi came up were worse than doing the work in the first place."

Ranma nodded morosely. "I wouldn't have even thought about doing that, but it'll cut into my training time," he whined, complete with a full on pout on his face.

The sight of this caused Nabiki to throw back her head with a laugh, startling several people nearby and Akane who had been moving towards them, scowling irritably and intent on questioning the two about their relationship. She stopped, staring at the sight of her sister laughing like that, then moved away quickly when she noticed Kuno moving toward them from their other side.

"There you are my sorcerous foe! Your attempt to hide yourself from my righteous wrath has failed again! Ever will I find you as long as you are on the hallowed grounds of this institution! Just as I will fight to free the glorious ice maiden's soul is long as you hold it in your grip!"

Ranma scowled angrily, hopping out of the tree, eager to have an outlet for his angry. "How long does it take you to set up your bets?" he asked, moving towards where Kuno was still spouting nonsense.

Nabiki's eyes flicked around the area noting where her factors were in the gathering crowd before she replied. "About ten minutes or so."

"Then you better bet on ten minutes 15 seconds." Ranma answered, looking up at the clock which was set in the wall of the school's main building above the entrance. "I'm in no mood for Kuno's shIIIT!"

Just then he pushed Nabiki to the side, jumping away himself as the sword user slashed the air in front of him sending a wind blade through the area the two of them had been standing in. "Right that's it!" Ranma growled, only to be held back by Nabiki's flinging a nearby rock at the back of his head.

She glared at him, and Ranma glared right back while dodging another attack as Kuno closed in before nodding, understanding her point. 'Ten minutes and 15 seconds', he mouthed back.

Luckily his head had been turned away by most of the crowd, so no one noticed and Nabiki quickly rounded up a few of her factors telling them the plan. They got really good odds for the bet. No one was willing to admit that Ranma was so good as to beat Kuno in that little a time, despite the number of times he already beaten him.

For the next ten minutes Ranma kept on dodging, using his hands occasionally to redirect or block an attack, but mostly just dodging around, getting a feel for Kuno's speed once more as well as analyzing his long range wind attack. _There's nothing to learn here, nothing to take away from this ass hole! He keeps on attacking me in the same old way, he hasn't even been training as far as I can tell, and certainly hasn't added anything new to his repertoire. Even a new weapon would've been_ _ **something**_ _!_

Ranma was so above Kuno in skill he could keep one eye on the clock above the schoolhouse and still dodge just as easily. When the clock struck ten minutes after the fight had begun, Ranma jumped forward. He batted aside the latest attack with one hand, before grabbing the sword right before Kuno tried to swing it backwards. By that point ten seconds had passed since he had begun his attack, and the next second found his fist slamming into Kuno's chest with enough force to lift him off and shoot him backwards, through the outer wall of the school and out the other side.

"You don't learn! You haven't learned from the very beginning! Don't fight me again until you have something new to try, and don't ever fight me with other people around! We're martial artists, were supposed to defend other people not put them in danger, which you've done several times now!" He shouted, before turning away, tossing his ponytail over his shoulder contemptuously as he moved towards the school building.

He never noticed the looks he was getting from various women there. Nor did he see Nabiki's taking a brief moment to glance his way while orchestrating her various factors to collect the money they had just won. _That was… hhmmm… Ranma really is something else…_

 **OOOOOOO**

Later that day as they were walking home from school Nabiki shook her head as Ranma indicated the fence. "Too many people around, sorry. Besides, I wanted to ask you a question about whether or not you'd decided on modeling for me."

"I said I would, so yeah," Ranma said with a shrug. "Do you want to do it today?" He grinned suddenly. "You might want to come over to Izumo anyway: I want to introduce you all to Miya-nee if that's okay. I think she and Kasumi would get on great so she was my first choice but if you want to come over and do it today that's fine too." He frowned a little shaking his head. "As for the pictures I'd be more comfortable if I had Miya there. No offense, but I know her better than I know you, and I feel more at home at her place."

"That's fine," Nabiki said with a smile, the genuine nature of which would have startled anyone who knew her save Kasumi. "I'd like to meet this woman who had such an impact on you anyway."

"Good," Ranma replied and then smirked. "You might even see a little bit of a floor show. I don't want to ruin it for you now by telling you though."

"If it's more of your sparring or whatever I don't care so much, I've already gotten rather tired of the noise in evenings," Nabiki said dryly. Then she looked away as Ranma laughed, pushing her in the shoulder gently before hopping back up onto the fence.

Akane had stayed behind to help one of the clubs that she routinely helped out. She was the star of many of them, Akane's physical skills and above all strength putting her head and shoulders above normal girls. The school had taken home several dozen trophies in the past few years thanks to her, and the teachers and principal, whoever the heck he was, Nabiki had never seen the man, wanted that to continue.

This left the two of them alone, and they talked quietly all the way home, Ranma asking Nabiki what she would have Ranma do as a model, and sharing some money making ideas of his own. Normally Ranma wouldn't have cared about that kind of thing, but the amount of food Akitsu, Ranma and Genma ate was enough to bankrupt the Tendos in short order. Soun's job as a councilman didn't bring in much and Genma was being paid barely enough to cover his own food expenses.

The idea of selling Ranma's martial arts construction skills to pay for any damages done in battles Ranma witnessed was a good one Nabiki had to admit, but then she expanded on it. "I think before we do that we should also use your skills in some kind of exhibition of martial arts construction, advertise that you'll work on whatever was damaged, then sell tickets or let people make wagers on first if you can or not and then how long it takes you to finish."

"After three or four exhibitions like that we could then start to charge the owners. Between paying you or going further into debt to MBI at twice the price say I bet a lot of people would pay that no doubt. Right there might make more money than all of my schemes at school." Nabiki shook her head ruefully. "If we do that, we could pay for the house's extended food bill for a month with, say two jobs depending on the size? After that it would be pure profit, though I think we should keep going."

Her head continued to shake from side to side ruefully. "If we get as much money as I think that scheme can net us, I know a few ways to broker it into even more, a long range investment if you would. There are a few things going on in America that I think are going to have a huge impact on the local economy, just as much is MBI has in Japan, but without any of the negative side of things or the Sekirei Plan."

Ranma shrugged. "I've never cared about that kind of thing before. But if you're so sure about it, give me the information. I'll talk to Miya and one of her tenants about it, Kagari seems the type to notice stuff like that and have an opinion. If they think it's a good idea I'll let you invest my money too. As for how we split them money, let's say straight up split for a few months, then after that 75-25 split me-you? I mean, I'll be the one doing most of the physical labor so…"

"That's actually very generous considering everything Ranma," Nabiki said warmly, banishing the reactions of anyone at school to the idea of someone trusting with their money like that, before sighing and looking away. Ranma was looking more and more like a diamond in the rough to her in many ways, and she wondered if maybe this whole engagement thing might turn out to be workable after all, despite her initial reaction to his curse.

The physical attraction was there obviously, after all in both forms Ranma was **hot**! Nabiki didn't consider herself bisexual by any means, but it didn't actually turn her off like it obviously her little sister. But Nabiki wasn't one to act just on physical attraction. Yet on top of that she was beginning to like Ranma as a person more and more.

 _It's not love, it is not even a crush, but I could seriously see it becoming either one in time. But then where does Akitsu fit in this? The attraction between the two of them is obvious and it goes way beyond the physical. Akitsu has had a hard life, she deserves some happiness, and the two of them have a lot in common, certainly more than me and Ranma anyway._ Shaking her head Nabiki decided set those thoughts aside to look at later. Right now, she was just going to have some fun later today, take some pictures and make some money.

At home they found Genma and Soun sparring with Akitsu. Soun seemed to only barely be able to keep up with Akitsu physically, though in skill he easily surpassed her despite being incredibly rusty in Ranma's opinion. His father on the other hand simply surpassed both of them in skill, style, speed, strength and was obviously holding back.

"We have to find one a close combat type Sekirei to join us in these spars," Ranma said as he stepped out onto the covered pathway leading to the dojo. Behind him Nabiki went upstairs to change, as well as grab a few items she thought would both fit Ranma and look amazing for the pictures.

Akitsu stopped fighting immediately, moving over toward Ranma only to find herself suddenly on her back, Genma's fist hovering an inch over her face. "Do not look away from a spar!" he said sternly. "Until the spar is ended, treat it like an actual battle, understood?"

Akitsu nodded then froze the area around him solid, before he could break away. "Understood," she said simply, standing up and moving around the semi-frozen man even as he began to smash the ice to pieces around him.

Shaking his head, Soun turned away, as the frozen water and ice around his old friend went to work changing him into a panda. "Why do you say we need to find another Sekirei?"

"Akitsu is an element user but others seem to specialize in weapons or hand-to-hand. I've fought some of those already, but while they weren't a threat, I'd be interested to see how quickly they can learn things." Ranma replied. Of course he also knew that Miya was more than a threat she was a freaking mountain in comparison to him, but Ranma didn't consider her a normal example of the Sekirei race. Indeed, he wondered if she was something entirely different because her power eclipsed that of any other Sekirei in the city.

"Interesting," Soun said nodding in what he thought was a sagely manner.

Ranma thought he looked rather ridiculous but he didn't comment, instead turning to his old man. "Anyway, Nabs and I are…" he paused ducking under a thrown shoe, turning to shout up at Nabiki's open window. "Who throws a shoe, honestly!"

"Don't call me Nabs damn it!" Nabiki's voice reached him.

Rolling his eyes, Ranma turned back to his father. "Anyway, I will be taking Nabiki and Akitsu over to Izumo. She has something she wanted to talk to one of the tenants there about." Ranma was not going to tell his father Nabiki had talked her into posing for her pictures. "Are you still planning to come over Friday night and then leave with Soun on a training trip?"

Soun scowled at Ranma calling him by his first name, a sign of disrespect from a young student to a master. But Genma didn't leap to his defense, and he subsided, knowing that as he was, Soun had no chance of beating Ranma in a match. Even at full strength Soun knew from watching the boy his speed and strength might be above Soun's own.

"Yes boy, I said I would, didn't I?" Genma-panda signed back, while Akitsu watched closely trying to figure out what he was doing with the signs to make the different messages appear on the same sign just by flipping it around.

"Cool, just making sure. I'll tell Miya to expect ya," Ranma replied, while inside he was cackling eagerly. Oh boy was that meeting going to be fun! "Anyway, I better tell Kasumi we're heading out."

Kasumi of course agreed to come and meet Miya and help Ranma with his language arts studies in the evenings after dinner, provided he concentrated on it as she expected. If Ranma wasn't willing to take his studies seriously she wasn't willing to help him. She also decided they should put off her coming over to meet Miya until Ranma was caught up.

A few moments later, Ranma was carrying Nabiki on his back as he and Akitsu hopped over the rooftops towards the northern section of the city. Nabiki was blushing hotly, feeling her chest pressing into Ranma's back, her arms and legs wrapped around Ranma's body. But the view of the city as they were hopping along took her breath away. "This is fun," she said into his ear. "I've never seen the city from this angle."

"You should see it from on high!" Ranma said with a laugh, lifting one hand to point up at Tokyo Tower. "I've been up there a few times, though not since I got back admittedly. The view from up there is amazing."

"I've seen it from the inside, I can't imagine it's too different from the outside from up there Ranma," Nabiki said somewhat bemusedly. "But seeing the city like this from so close, yet from an entirely different angle is very strange and fun. That and the speed we're going!"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, before cocking his head quizzically. "Is it still called Tokyo Tower?"

"Yes, there was a mass protest when the head of MBI tried to make need Shin Tower."

"Do you know if MBI ever tried to buy out Nerima like it bought the rest of the city? Hell, I don't even know what that really means."

"I could explain it to you, but I really don't want you to fall asleep right now…" Nabiki drawled, causing Ranma to toss her to Akitsu who caught her as Nabiki shrieked in fury. "Damn it Ranma!"

"Heh, don't tease the guy holding ya in midair, that should be somewhere in the common sense handbook." Ranma said turning and now facing Akitsu and Nabiki as they continued on. "Now, try to explain it to me."

"Stocks, land and businesses. Some businesses, small ones, don't have stocks of course but they own their buildings and have agreements in place with distribution companies elsewhere." Nabiki replied, leaning her head back against Akitsu's chest. "Hmmm, this is more comfortable than your back Ranma, I have to say. MBI bought out the stocks of all publicly and even most of the privately owned businesses in Tokyo, the only exception being a few almost equally large privately owned companies.

"Then they bought out all the government-owned land, the utilities and then all the lands and buildings they could." Nabiki shook her head. "There was a major public campaign against that, but MBI won a lot of support after renovating the fire and police department's vehicles gratis. Then they offered to subsidize all the small businesses in return for ownership of the buildings they were in. That is all that I know about that process anyway."

"I still wonder how the hell they were allowed to do all that, I mean yeah I can see them getting some public support for the police thing, but the rest? Weird. But anyway, they didn't try all that with Nerima?"

"They did, but they didn't succeed. Kuno's family owns most of Nerima in various ways, and he refused to sell, and what they don't own is privately owned going back generations, like the Tendo house. My father's family has lived there since the Meiji Era. Heh, I can still remember Daddy's reaction to their attempt to make him sell. Funniest thing I've ever seen, he did that big head attack of his then fell into one of his weeping fits while still using the technique." Nabiki replied.

Ranma laughed and the trip continued. Akitsu and Ranma began discussing further training ideas for her power, with Nabiki interjecting occasionally. She wasn't a martial artist, but she was a very good observer, and had a natural, if untrained, tactical mind.

When they arrived at Izumo House Uzume answered the door, dressed for once thankfully. The clothes in question were a pair of jeans which looked painted on and a tight shirt with a star on the front over her chest, but at least her clothing covered all the important bits.

Staring at the slightly older brunette Nabiki shook her head. "You have got to be a Sekirei with proportions like that," she said bluntly. "What God or Goddess have you all made a deal with to get bodies like that?"

Behind Uzume Miya giggled slightly, covering her mouth with her hand as she moved forward while Uzume simply grinned. "Jealous?" she asked striking a pose.

"Not hardly," Nabiki said, standing straight and crossing her arms under her own chest, cocking her hips at the same time. Nabiki was proud of her body, and wasn't about to be jealous of some alien woman. "There seems to be a significant downside to being a Sekirei. After all, I'm no fighter."

 _You might not be a fighter in the physical sense but I can tell you've got spirit at least_ Miya thought, but did not say aloud. "You must be Nabiki yes, the middle one? Ranma has told me about you and your sisters. Please be welcome in my home."

Nabiki bowed politely, looking interestedly at the purple-haired woman. There was nothing in her manners that indicated she was a martial artist to her mind, except for her confident stance and mannerisms, not cockiness, but simple self-contained confidence. Nabiki had no ki sense, so couldn't feel the frankly insanely terrifying pillar of power that Miya was in terms of her life energy. All she saw was a beautiful woman whose serene manner put Kasumi's best mask to shame.

"Did you actually ask him to pose for you?" Uzume asked. The idea of that had come up while the duo was doing their work on MBI tower.

"Yes I did, in fact he mentioned you to me, and having seen you in person I have to agree, you' be a major hit. Would you like to join us? I'll give you 25% of the profits of the pictures?" Nabiki said, knowing that any picture with Uzume in it would sell like octopus balls at a matsuri.

"Deal," Uzume said with a grin, knowing the money would be really useful soon, not for her, but her Ashikabi. "This is gonna be fun."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ranma muttered, following Miya and the others up to Uzume's room.

 **OOOOOOO**

Kodachi chuckled to herself as she hopped along the rooftops, still dressed in her all girls uniform, though she was wearing her leotard underneath it as per usual. _I don't particularly enjoy seeing my brother outside of our house but my kohai's tail of Ranma was interesting enough to make it worth my while._

 _But first, I think I will stop and get a bite to eat._ With that thought Kodachi hopped down from the roof, landing easily on the street below, ignoring with regal disdain the shouts of shock from the plebes around her. She walked inside a café,, ordering a small salad for herself as well as a large glass of tea before sitting down to work on a bit of her homework. Despite her standing in Rhythmic gymnastics, the school demanded she keep her grades up, which given Kodachi's intelligence was no real hardship.

As she finished eating something caught her eye outside the café. A tall, exceptionally handsome looking young man, possibly of college age had just come out of a store across the street from the café. He was, talking into a cell phone in public which was admittedly rather rude in her opinion, but that wasn't what had caught her attention. What had was his light brown hair, which gave him a slight gaijin appearance which was rather striking, and his general body frame. _A swordsman, and a very good one._

Kodachi of course knew a swordsman when she saw one. The House of Kuno was an ancient samurai house, and there had been swordsman in it going back centuries. Tatewaki was merely the latest, and, in Kodachi's opinion the saddest of the lot. _This man might be built along the same lines as my brother, but I doubt he has the same mental issues which so plague him. And he is a most handsome fellow…_

A moment later Kodachi noticed two girls wearing leotards, yellow and black ugly looking things in her opinion, hop down from the rooftops. They talked quietly to the man, before looking toward the cafe. _Those two look somewhat like two of the group my kohai described to me._ _Hmm, which means they might well have set their sights on me, assuming I am a Sekirei ripe for the plucking. Such arrogance, to not only attack Kodachi Kuno, but to not have learned from the drubbing this Ranma fellow and the Ice Sekirei gave them. I think they require chastisement_.

For a moment Kodachi debated lingering over her tea in order to irritate her watchers, but decided against it, simply standing up paying the meal and moving towards the door. Then she looked out locking eyes with one of the girls and actually winking at her before backing away and moving towards the entrance to the kitchen.

"Excuse me," she said politely, pushing the man standing behind the café's bar out of the way when he tried to stop her. Then she was through, ignoring his a shout to stop, as well as other people trying to stop her with lordly disdain, smacking them aside with ease if they got her way. Between one step and the next she had pulled off her school uniform, tucking it into her ki space and pulled out her combat ribbon, as well as a baton.

The moment she was outside the servant's entrance to the café she flicked her ribbon up, catching a light that was hanging off of the rooftop above. Using her ribbon she pulled herself up and over it to land on one of the nearby flattop roofs, racing away as she looked for a place to turn and ambush her followers.

As she had expected, the two girls from earlier were after her quickly, with the handsome young man somewhere else no doubt watching, waiting to step in if need be. _I wonder if he is their Ashikabi, that would be most disappointing, someone willing to let his women do his fighting for him would be most unworthy of having them in the first place, no matter how handsome he is or how irritated it would make my brother if I started dating someone of obvious mixed blood._

Kodachi eventually stopped on a large roof belonging to some kind of large clothing store. There she turned, waiting, her ribbon cracking in the air.

A second later her two followers landed next to her, glaring at her. "All right little lost bird!" one of them said, arrogantly. "Why don't you come along with us quietly? You'll get to live in the lap of luxury and play the game for the winning side."

"Is that some kind of recruitment speech?" Kodachi asked archly, shaking her head internally at the arrogance of the girl in front of her. "For your information, my family is already rich enough for me to live in the lap of luxury, and I certainly won't have to work for a day in my life once I leave school."

For a moment the two of them paused, confused by her words and one of them shook her head. "She's lying, on no human can move like she can."

"HOHOHOHOHO! I would argue that, and wonder about your stupidity given the fact a human helped to defeat your attack on Namiji but you tried to treat my kohai most poorly. As her senpai, it falls upon me to chastise you." Kodachi said.

With that she attacked a fact which startled the two girls so much so that the whip wielding one couldn't get her weapon up and cracking towards Kodachi before Kodachi's own ribbon caught her wrist. Kodachi pulled hard, and her mace 'thunked' with bone crunching force into that girls chest, hurling her backwards.

Then Kodachi turned, bringing her leg around into a kick that blocked the other girl's own kick towards her. The two of them pushed off one another, and the girl charged thinking Kodachi would try to gain some range, punching forward hard as possible, thinking to disable Kodachi.

But then she gaped as the ribbon which had caught her friend's wrist suddenly hardened into something approaching steel, coming down on her outstretched arm as Kodachi leaped backward. She screamed in pain as her wrist broke, and then had to throw herself aside as the baton in Kodachi's other hand came up in a vicious arc which would've caught her in the chin.

The blond girl backpedaled quickly, but couldn't stop the kick which came out of nowhere hammering into her abdomen and doubling her over. A second later the ribbon staff came down on the back of her head, knocking her unconscious to the roof.

"Now," Kodachi said, twirling the ribbon as it was again changed into a ribbon "What to do with you two?"

"How about nothing?" said a voice, and she turned, watching as the man she had seen earlier appeared on the rooftop. He looked over at the unconscious and rather beaten duo and shook his head. "It's not been a good week for you two. Anyway, if you're un-winged, could you please come with me?"

"Who is asking, handsome one?" Kodachi asked, still twirling her baton. This one was dangerous, far beyond the other two. He also had not evidently been close enough to hear Kodachi's earlier proclamation of having a family or anything else.'

"I am, my name is Mutsu, and I am a Sekirei pledged to Hayato Mikogami."

Kodachi thought she recognized the name. A rich merchant family of some sort, but of course since they were mere merchant and not from the samurai class they were beneath her notice. Hayato was the son of the family she thought, a young boy of around 11 at best. Still, that gave her some information. "I see, and what does this master of yours want with me?"

Then she paused, struck by something, and blood began to rush to her face. "Wait, Hayato is a boy's name, does that mean you and he…" Kodachi trailed off, torn between horror that such a handsome man swung that way and yaoi fantasies featuring Mutsu and a young boy.

"Gah, no! I'm straight thank you, he winged me by accident, and I decided to roll with it!" Mutsu shouted back, shaking his head. "For reasons I won't go into it actually worked in my favor." He took a second to compose himself, having had to answer that question far too often for his liking before going on. "Anyway, if you are unwinged, will you come and meet Hayato? I promise you will be well treated, cared for and looked after. I'd reather not bring you in by force if I can help it."

 _Handsome he may be, but I think he is of rather low intelligence and class to assume I, a scion of the house of Kuno, could be kept like some pet. That might be simply because he still thinks I am a Sekirei, but even that speaks poorly of his race. But playing along will allow me to meet the mind behind the attack on my kohai and this uncouth plan to forcibly 'wing' Sekirei._

"Hmm, well, I suppose I can at least agree to meeting your master, handsome one. Show me the way."

Mutsu nodded, grateful for not needing to take the girl by force. He picked up Mitsuha onto one shoulder, happy to see that this new Sekirei was rather strong for her type. Her joining them would give them a major boost in fighting power. "What's your name by the way, and your number?"

"Kodachi is my name Mutsu-san, as for my number, you will have to guess." Kodachi said coquettishly, moving over to take one of his arms with her own.

Flushing slightly at that Mutsu moved to pick up the other girl and led the way over the rooftops. Kodachi continued to flirt with Mutsu verbally as the trip went on, causing him to become more and more uncomfortable, wondering why a Sekirei would flirt with another Sekirei, thinking it rather perverse. Not that she was unattractive but Kodachi was one of the younger looking Sekirei he had seen and he was a grown man, setting aside the fact they were both Sekirei.

About ten minutes after Kodachi dealt with the two blonde girls, they arrived at the outer fence surrounding a large mansion. Kodachi looked it over with a jaundiced eye, noticing the property looked somewhat smaller than the Kuno estate, though the mansion looked to have at least another story to it than the Kuno mansion, and a full wing larger as well.

Mutsu noticed how blasé she semed about the mansion, but decided not to comment on it, simply handing off the two sisters to another Sekirei, a young girl who looked like she was wearing robes fit for a noblewoman in a Noh play. She and a few others stopped before leaving the mansion to take the sisters, though one of them who was wielding a scythe, sneered at the two downed Sekirei. "Tsk, two on one and you lose, again? Honestly, your such weaklings it reflects badly on our Ashikabi! Hahahah, If I had been sent this girl here would've been brought in a much more… pliable state to Hayato-sama."

"OHOHOHO! You think that you could defeat the great Kodachi little girl, with your ridiculous scythe? I am no peasant to be intimidated by such I assure you. If you wish to try your luck, please do so." Kodachi said, her ribbon coming down from where she had looped it around her forearm to start twirling in the air beside her leg.

The girl, one Yomi by name, scowled at her and made to attack but Mutsu pushed between them. "Enough. Kodachi might be joining us and becoming a comrade of ours Yomi, don't provoke her. As for you Kodachi, once you join us you will learn there is a pecking order around here, and you'll have to earn your place."

"Hmm, well if you say so my handsome man, I will go along with things." Kodachi replied, reaching out to caress Mutsu's jaw, watching in amusement as the other Sekirei looked rather astonished and appalled by her flirtatious attitude with 'another' Sekirei. _Oh, this farce is most amusing. And honestly, the hubris of these Sekirei to assume that any who are beyond the norm is among their number. I would have thought Ranma would have already broken them of that, but I suppose it is somewhat understandable._

Yomi shivered at what she was seeing, but bowed to Mutsu's command. With a flounce in her steps she moved off with the others to drop the two blondes with the incredible bad luck in the hospital wing before heading out on patrol.

As they did, Mutsu led Kodachi through the mansion up to Hayato's office. It actually was his father's office, but since he and his mother were in India at present trying to broker a trade deal they weren't going to be back anytime soon. Especially if, as Mutsu knew it would, the city was placed on lockdown, with no one allowed to come or go.

Hayato looked up from behind the desk, having been working on a map of some sort. "Mutsu, you've brought a new girl awesome! Any idea what her power is."

As Kodachi raised a sardonic eyebrow at a mere descendant of merchants talking down like that to a scion of the house of Kuno, but said nothing for a moment, merely turning her head slightly to one side as if examining the décor, secretly dabbing some of her special lipstick on, before turning the other way to examine the fourth person in the room. She was a tall, silver haired woman with a very decent, if somewhat soft looking body. She too was looking at Kodachi with interest, coupled with some suspicion as well.

"She seems able to change the type of matter in her ribbon from cloth to steel, and is extremely skilled in both that and blending in. She was wearing a uniform when I caught sight of her leaping down from a rooftop downtown." Mutsu replied.

"That would be because it was indeed my school uniform," Kodachi replied, chuckling throatily, deciding it was time to bring this mummer's farce to an end. From one pocket on her leotard, she tossed her ID to Mutsu.

He caught it, and looked at it frowning. "Kodachi Kuno, age 17, St. Hebereke, A group?"

"That would be I." As Mutsu had been reading her ID, Kodachi had moved forward, placing a bouquet of roses on the table. The woman, as Kodachi had expected, quickly grabbed it up suspiciously, getting it away from the boy only to get a face full of gas from the bouquet, which put her on her rear.

Mutsu scowled, moving toward her, but Kodachi closed the distance, her arms going around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss. "Pity that you already have been winged handsome one, what fun we would have…" Then she kissed him, and her black lipstick did its work.

Mutsu was a single number. He was stronger, faster and far less susceptible to the mental indoctrination the higher numbers had been subjected to. He did not however have any extra defense to toxins induced to his system via touch, or in this case saliva. He fell backwards, twitching as the toxin did it's work.

"Wh, what the heck!" Hayato gasped, then reached for an intercom button on his desk only for his hand to be caught by Kodachi's ribbon. He then found himself pulled into the air and over the desk, where she caught him easily.

"Now, you rude little boy, I have to tell you something. Point one, not everybody who is able to jump around rooftops or perform amazing feats is a Sekirei. Not only you, but your Sekirei should learn this, and this will certainly teach you to leave your betters alone! Point two, using your Sekirei like they are peons, toys to be disposed of or used is dishonorable in the extreme. But even that pales in comparison to collecting them by force as if they are those ridiculous Poke-creatures!"

So saying Kodachi sat down in a chair, flipping Hayato around so that he was laying on her lap, his rear up in the air. "What, What are you!?"

Hayato's words were interrupted by a slapping sound and he yelped as Kodachi's hand smacked into his rear. "HOHOHoho, I believe the proper punishment for a little brat is a good paddling, and if the handsome one over there is unable or unwilling to do so, it falls upon your betters to provide! Now repeat after me, I will not try to collect Sekirei anymore."

"Damnit it you crazy bitch get off me! MutsuUUUU!" Hayato's words segued into a squeal as Kodachi's palm once more met his rear.

"Be glad I have allowed you to retain some dignity along with your pants." Kodachi said archly. "Now, again, repeat after me, I will not try to collect Sekirei anymore."

"It, its part of the game, you have to collect as many as possible, it'll give you a leg up in later stagesSSS! Mutsu tried again, only to feel the stinging retort of Kodachi's palm once more.

"Tut, tut, tut. I see someone is a rather slow learner. But never let it be said Kodachi of the house of Kuno gives up on challenges." With that Kodachi continued to smack Hayato's bottom, until he was reduced to simply whimpering.

"There," she said, pushing him off her waist and standing up laughing. "Hohohohoho! That will teach you. The next time you try to treat random people as pawns in your game, do recall that they don't have to go along with it, and some do have power to strike back, yes?"

With that she turned, leaving Hayato whimpering and holding his rear. Ignoring him, Kodachi turned moving over to Mutsu, who was slowly overcoming the paralysis of her kiss.

She quickly renewed it before whispering, "A pity indeed handsome one. Still, I think we can still have some fun together. I will be seeing you around. HOhohohoh!" Still laughing Kodachi opened the window and leaped out into the trees beyond, making her way out of the Mikogami compound.

Moments later Mutsu, whose body was quickly growing immune to Kodachi's paralysis compound, stood up. He moved over to his Ashikabi, who was still rubbing at his rear and whimpering and then Taki before shaking his head. "What the hell is going on with the game? First that man the night with the ice Sekirei now that crazy bitch! Where are all these weird humans coming from anyway!?"

 **OOOOOOO**

Ranma looked up from where he had been looking askance at a few costumes Uzume had frowning. Most of them were huge, looking like those worn by mascots or those American children would wear on Halloween. And all of them were very well made. Nabiki too was looking at them all in amazement, though she quickly concentrated on the clothing and more normal outfits Uzume possessed. But none of that, even the risqué lingerie Uzume had held up proudly before a hanya attack™, was the cause of his thoughtful frown.

"What's wrong Ranma-sama?" Akitsu asked quickly.

"I just got the feeling that someone else just ran into trouble before it could find me. Strange, it's a feeling I've never had before, but one I could seriously get used to." Ranma mused.

"Whatever, here Ranma, try this on." Nabiki said, holding up a swimsuit. Miya had nixed several of Uzume's various outfits, and even a few of Nabiki's, but this one, one of Nabiki's, Miya had felt was appropriate. It was a white one piece suit which looked somewhat like a school racing swimsuit, except that it's sides had large bits cut out.

Ranma nodded, leaving the room and heading towards the bathroom. When Ranma, now in his female form, came back to the sitting room Uzume had changed into her own suit, one that was only slightly more risqué than Ranma's despite Uzume wanting to wear a barely there bikini. She was still pouting about that when Nabiki began to direct her and Ranma into taking various poses.

Once more, Miya, watching this from the corner, stepped in occasionally to stop it from becoming too illicit. But to Miya's surprise, Nabiki actually didn't go for that many 'cheescake' poses, despite Uzume doing her best to push for them. Indeed, the poses she used were mostly taken from Sports Illustrated. While some of these were definitely sensual, and certainly enough to make Ranma blush a near solid red, they weren't quite objectionable enough for Miya to step in.

"Okay, let's move on to some of the other outfits." Nabiki said after taking ten photos each of Uzume and Ranma. "I'll go through those and pick out three with which to end the packets with. Now, let's get some around the house shots."

Ranma nodded, leaving to change quickly, until Uzume reached out, burying the redhead's head in her generous (read ginormous) bust. "Aw, does that mean I won't be able to make bro here try to imitate a tomato? Still, don't worry bro, if you ever want to see me in a swimsuit, all you need to do is ask…"

Instead of responding verbally Ranma's fingers found Uzume's side, tickling mercilessly and forcing the busty Sekirei to leap away with a whoop. Ranma shook her head, gasping. "Couldn't breathe Uzume, jeez, you could kill someone with those things."

"Heh, but what a way to go huh bro?" Uzume said with a grin, sharing a chuckle with Nabiki while Miya debated using her ladle or her hanya mask before deciding that yes, for this moment the ladle was more appropriate.

While Uume and Nabiki were nursing their heads Ranma turned to Akitsu, shaking her head. "Sorry about this Akitsu, I know just waiting around while we're having pictures taken is rather boring."

"Why doesn't Icy-chan join us then?" Uzume asked. "She's certainly hot enough."

"Quit trying to corrupt her Uzume, you've already done more than enough in that area! Besides, Akitsu's already got one madman trying to chase her down at times. I doubt she wants anymore, right Akitsu?" Ranma said, cocking her head at the tan-haired woman.

Akitsu actually shuddered a little at the reminder before nodding her head and smiling her small smile at her master's kindness. "Thank you, Ranma-sama, and yes I would rather not take part," she said softly. "If you asked me to I would but I would rather not."

Akitsu was slowly realizing that Ranma really did want her to speak her mind often. While she still had a submissive streak as she had said during their time in the baths several days ago, she was becoming more willing to speak her mind at times.

"Excuse me?" Miya asked, looking up quickly. "What was that?"

"I mentioned Kuno to you right?" Ranma paused, looking over at Nabiki. "What was his first name again?"

"Tatewaki," Nabiki supplied. "Don't worry, everyone just calls him by his last name anyway. He thinks its a sign of respect but its actually a sign of extreme disrespect."

Ranma nodded. "Anyway, Kuno came onto Akitsu pretty strongly when she showed up at school during lunch. Since then he's always attacking me because I live with the Tendo's and he's after the younger sister there and apparently because I've also in 'ensorcelled' Akitsu somehow."

"Oh my," Miya said, shaking her head, one hand rising to cup her cheek, though her eyes had hardened somewhat. "And this person calls himself a swordsman? I would most definitely like to have words with him at some point then."

 _Akitsu is still one of my feathers. Even if I am no longer the pillar she and her sisters are still under my protection as little as I can do myself. Although, come to think of it, I think Ranma has inadvertently taken up some of my duties… in his own way of course, and within the bounds of the present day._

"Enough talk about the moron," Nabiki said clapping her hands ones and gesturing Ranma. "Ranma, put this on."

Ranma looked at the outfit Nabiki handed her, then sighed and moved over to the bathroom once more, changing quickly looking at herself in the mirror and blushing. The outfit wasn't all that bad, just a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, but the T-shirt was really tight and the pants would accent her rear something fierce. "This looks like something Uzume would wear, I think I'm beginning to regret introducing the two you."

"Hehy, bro you say the nicest things." Uzume replied, moving to the staircase and up to her room. She came back wearing a outfit that matched Ranma's, except possibly being even tighter against her body than his.

"Excellent! Now, come on, let's…" Nabiki began, only to be interrupted.

"Hold on, why don't you join us for some of these pictures?" Uzume said, moving forward to take one of Nabiki's arms.

"Because unlike Ranma I can't hide in another body, and unlike you, I actually go to school with some of the horndogs who will be buying these pictures." Nabiki replied logically. "Now come on. I think for this first set, I'll want you both in the shot at once."

About an hour later the ordeal ended and Ranma removed himself to change back into his original body. "All right I'm going to go out on patrol. Akitsu, can you take Nabiki home? And don't pout," he finished, even though Akitsu's face hadn't changed at all. He was getting better at reading her expressions, and he reached over, and ruffling her hair gently. "Ya know she can't roofhop, **so** one of us has to see her home."

Again Nabiki felt something like jealousy stirring within her, before tramping it down ruthlessly. There was just no way she, Nabiki Tendo, the Ice Queen of Nerima, could be falling for a guy this quickly.

"I'll do it," said Uzume, throwing her arm around the somewhat shorter and much less busty brunette.

Nabiki smiled thinly, shaking her head. "Actually, if you don't mind Ranma I'd like to stay here for a bit." She looked over at Miya, who looked back, smiling politely. "I'd like to get to know your friends if that's all right?"

Ranma nodded, not having anything that Miya could tell Nabiki that he didn't want her to know. He also figured that the two of them had been getting along so well it was all right. He turned to Miya, cocking his head thoughtfully as another thought occurred to him. "Where is your other tenant anyway?"

"Kagari-san is sleeping," Miya said, shaking her head. "He works at night, and also goes out to patrol at night."

"You mentioned that before," Ranma replied, pulling at his pigtail thoughtfully. "What power does he have? Or is he a fist fighter?" he asked, looking a little skeptical. Kagari didn't have the right build for a hand to hand combatant.

"He is not a fist fighter as you well know," Miya said with a laugh, holding one hand above her mouth is always, a sight that Ranma was getting a little irritated by. It was as if she didn't want people to know she was laughing or having fun.

"He is in fact an elements user," she said after a moment thinking about what she could tell Ranma about Kagari without breaking his confidence. "A fire user. That is however all I will tell you without consulting him first."

"Is he still freaked out about the whole magic thing?" Ranma asked. "It feels like he's kind of avoiding me."

" **I** am still freaked out about the whole magic thing," Nabiki said shaking her head. "And I live in Nerima for God sakes! I'm used to martial artists being able to cut through concrete with wind pressure, smash bricks, hop on roofs, or shut people down with a bare touch of a finger. But magic still bothers me."

"Yeah but they're aliens or something right?" Ranma said, before quickly reaching out to pull Akitsu into a one-armed hug having somehow again felt that the girl had become distressed at his word choice for some reason. "Shouldn't they already be used to the unusual?"

"Speaking as one of those aliens, no were not ,"Uzume said dryly shaking her head. "I mean we're not exactly normal ourselves, but there is a reason for why our powers exist, why we're different. Magic is…" she stumbled frowning for a moment.

"Inherently incomprehensible?" Nabiki suggested and the older girl gave her a grateful squeeze not having removed her arm from around her earlier.

Nabiki however moved slightly to the side now, and Uzume pouted, shaking her head at the girl. "I'm not going to steal you from bro, don't worry," she said smirking.

"How can you steal me from him when we're not even together? I'm not used to people being so touchy-feely," Nabiki said shaking her head.

"Anyway, I'm heading out now," Ranma said with a smile, turning to Akitsu and nodding his head towards the door. Akitsu nodded, but waited until he began to move before moving in that direction. "See ya later Uzume!"

Uzume nodded, watching the two hop out of the window and off onto the rooftops, shaking her head with a grin. _Damn I like that boy! If I didn't already have an Ashikabi, and if I wasn't far more interested in girls than I am and boys, he'd be perfect. Hell, he'd even be perfect anyway with that curse of his! And the way he's treating Akitsu, he might not know everything there is to know about women or dating or anything like that, but he sure on the right track._

With that she turned, heading downstairs eager to talk to Nabiki more.

She got there just in time to hear Nabiki ask Miya in a very serious tone "so, what can you tell me about Ranma's father that I don't already know?"

Miya turned from where she had just been about to entered the kitchen, frowning thoughtfully. "Why?"

"I'm already looking up his past, I want to figure out if anything is going to come home to roost as it were," Nabiki shook her head smiling faintly. "Ranma and I are both of the opinion that there really isn't any point in the agreement between our families though getting the heads of our families to agree to that is an issue. Its just better to be forewarned, but I haven't had much luck tracing their route."

"That shows good sense, but unfortunately I can't help you much. I did not interact with Genma at all frankly. On the other hand, I know many of the training methods he used on Ranma, will that help?" Miya asked.

"It depends, did those stories come with places and names?"

"Some of them," Miya hummed thoughtfully. "Yes I think that I can help you there. Let me get dinner started and then we can talk."

Nabiki nodded, and turned to Uzume, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "By the way, where in the world you come up with all of those costumes? Are you a costume designer? There's good money in that."

Uzume blinked. "Really?"

Seeing Uzume's surprise Nabiki smirked, and began to describe a few jobs such a talent would be useful in as the two sat down at the table.

 **OOOOOOO**

At first, the patrol was uneventful. Ranma and Akitsu hopped over the rooftops while Ranma began to teach Akitsu how to spot hiding places, vantage point and other things of that nature, stuff that he had learned when he began to learn the more advanced form of the Aerial Style of Anything Goes. Akitsu listened intently as Ranma also began to describe the tenants of that school to her.

"It's all about angles, momentum and force," he said, hopping from one roof to another. "Use the appropriate force at the appropriate angle and you can turn aside an attack or use the momentum of that attack to keep in the air, changing your position at the same time. I don't know if you're going to be at all at home with that Akitsu, but we'll see. If not, maybe by the time you're ready to learn advanced techniques, Soun will be ready to teach moves from the Earth style."

Akitsu nodded. After the past few days sparring with Akane, Akitsu knew hand to hand was a very dangerous weakness in her style, and she was eager to correct it. Not only for herself of course, but because she wanted to protect her master.

"Since it is already late, will we have time to train when we return to the Tendo household?" She asked Ranma never called the Tendo place home, and Akitsu had been quick to pick up on that.

"Maybe, it depends. I'd really like to meet up with Kagari, work out a schedule of patrolling the city, figuring out where to go and where not to go, safe zones no go zones that kind of thing. I think we need to start getting more organized. I mean we've seen what six or seven fights so far today?"

"Six master," Akitsu replied promptly. "All evenly matched of course or we would've interfered correct?"

"You're getting it," Ranma said with a grin, looking back at her causing Akitsu to flush slightly in her own manner.

Akitsu understood that it was not fighting that Ranma objected to, nor even the property damage, though he would prefer if the combatants themselves were the ones cleaning up after the battles were over. Still, MBI had made allowances for that, and he wasn't going to make an issue of that. Rather it was the fights like he had seen against the Tsukiumi and Namiji that bothered Ranma.

In a way she could understand that. Ranma was a martial artist, and as had been explained to her a martial artist always believed in fair play. At least according to Ranma, though his father and Soun seemed to not agree with that ideal.

Miya-sama on the other hand did, and she and Ranma were a much better example of the type in Akitsu's opinion. But this wasn't a martial arts tournament or anything like that. This was the Sekirei plan, and in that, all that mattered was to win in the end.

Not that the plan or the end prize mattered to Akitsu, at least not right now. It might though if Ranma was able to somehow figure out how to fix her like he said they might be able to. She didn't have much hope for that, and frankly she didn't see how it would change anything from the way she was right now, but it would change how MBI and the Sekirei plan viewed her.

She stopped just then as Ranma did, pausing on a rooftop as he looked down. "…Is that? Wait here for a sec Akitsu," he said over his shoulder. "I think I just saw an old friend."

Akitsu nodded, waiting at the vantage point. That this allowed Akitsu to keep a better eye on both her Ashikabi and the area surrounding them were the real reason she obeyed that order, not liking being away from him even by that far.

"Ryoga, is that you?" Ranma said as he jumped down, landing lightly next to the man he'd noticed from the rooftops wandering around aimlessly.

The man in question was somewhat shorter than Ranma by about an inch or so. But he was broader in the shoulders than even Ranma though he wasn't built like a swordsman, he was built like a weightlifter with bulging muscles visible on his arms and a corresponding wide core built for strength. In fact he looked so different from what Ranma remembered that Ranma had trouble at first believing making the connection, but the bandanna and the backpack matched he was willing to chance it, and he was proven right when the man grinned, showing the two slightly pointed fangs Ranma remembered from the Hibiki family.

Ryoga's eyes lit up, and he reached out, grabbing Ranma by the shoulders and shaking him. "Ranma what the hell man! You disappear for years, and all I know about it is that you were suddenly in China!"

Suddenly a premonition hit Ranma. "…Please don't tell me you tried to chase me down? With your family curse…"

Ryoga shook his head quickly. "No, though I might've. When I showed up and you weren't there I was so angry I was all set to do just that, but one of my neighbors had spotted your old man attacking you, and she was quick to point out what had happened." He shrugged. "After that, I tried to find lady Miya, and figure out if you had left word. I never could, but I found my dad, who got in contact with the school, who got in contact with Lady Miya. She told him about your message from Hong Kong and that was that."

"Really?" Ranma asked amazed. If Ryoga and his dad had been in the same room more than four times in the year had Ranma had gone to school with Ryoga, he would be astonished.

"I know, right?! Anyway, he started to train me. That was until a few months ago, when he went to the bathroom without telling me, and disappeared. I haven't seen him since." Ryoga shrugged. "Anyway, I decided to try and find you about a month ago, I left a message with our old school to contact me if you were enrolled anywhere, and I was told a few weeks back that you'd been enrolled at Furinkan in Nerima."

"Makes sense," Ranma said with a nod, making a mental note that Ryoga actually seemed more at home with using phones and other stuff of that nature than Ranma was. The pigtailed martial artist he gestured Ryoga to follow him, leaping up onto the roof to rejoin Akitsu.

Ryoga followed landing heavily with none of Ranma's grace, though there was a certain unstoppable nature to him, like a tank given legs Ranma recognized from his old man. He looked quizzically at Akitsu then over at Ranma who shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just say a lot's happened since I arrived in Tokyo."

"You're still calling it Tokyo," Ryoga said with a nod. "Good, I can understand what's going on with the government letting that asshole in the Cape have his way here. Have you seen any of his broadcasts? He comes off like those old anime-style mad doctors, or sometimes even the villains."

Ranma barked a laugh, shaking his head. "You don't know the half of it."

The two of them moved off over the rooftops, much slower than Ranma and Akitsu alone could've moved, with Akitsu remaining silent as she listened to Ranma explain what had been going on and Ryoga filling Ranma in on some of his training. Akitsu did stumble occasionally as Ryoga mentioned visiting places that sounded like Paris or Egypt, or the Grand Canyon in America, however. While Ranma had told her about his own travels, Ryoga had apparently seen the world yet at the same time talked about these places by prefacing them with 'up Near Hokkaido way', or "When I left Khufu I found this amazing Tower that I thought was even taller than Tokyo Tower, weird huh?"

After about fifteen minutes they had started to talk about exchanging phone numbers, since his cell phone was literally the most important thing Ryoga owned. Hearing that Ranma had to admit to not having a phone, something that made Ryoga stop and stare at him for a moment, then shake his head. "Buy one," he said firmly. "Seriously they're not expensive any longer ironically thanks to MBI, and they are massively useful."

Ranma shook his head, frowning. "I don't know man I prefer to be off the grid, and I really don't want MBI or anyone else to have such an easy way of contacting or tracking me."

"Yeah but it would make it easier for me," Ryoga said shaking his head. "On the other hand, I suppose that people like MBI could track you through your phone if they wanted, so I can see your point."

Ranma's response went unsaid as they suddenly heard the sound of lightning in the distance. Ryoga looked up at the sky quizzically, while Ranma turned in the direction he thought the sound was coming from. "You think that's those Lightning twins Akitsu?"

Akitsu thought looking in that direction than up at the sky and all around them before nodding. "It does not look as if it would be natural Ranma-sama."

"Let's go in that direction then it'll give Ryoga a good example of the stuff I'm talking about. And what've I told you about the sama stuff huh?" Ranma shook his head, already leaping away.

The trio soon came upon the two lightning twins attacking a girl wearing a priestess outfit, who was dodging around racing away from them. Ryoga blinked in shock, shaking his head. He hadn't actually of believed to Ranma about there being people out there with element style attacks (the rest he that he'd found more believable) but even after Akitsu head demonstrated her powers at one point, seeing someone hurling around lightning like the Greek god Zeus was something else.

"Stop chasing me!" Said the brunette in the lead, dodging another lightning bolt. She was dressed almost like a Miko priestess, with that kind of outfit as a blouse combined with a short red skirt and thigh-high red stockings. "I refuse to fight you until I find my Ashikabi!"

"You'll thank us for this later," said one of the lightning twins, shaking her head as she skidded to a halt in order to launch another lightning attack. "Don't worry, it'll be better if you're never involved in the game in the first place!"

Looking back over her shoulder the girl in the lead dodged quickly, but didn't realize that she was running headlong towards the trio who had just appeared on the scene. Ranma and Akitsu promptly got out of her way, but Ryoga simply held out his arms and she ran right into him, bouncing off as if she had run into a wall.

"Are you all right miss?" Ryoga asked solicitously, reaching down to help her to her feet, trying desperately not to stare at her massive, and currently swaying, bust.

The girl only shook her head then looked up at Ryoga in surprise, "I'm all right, but wow, I didn't think humans were that strong!"

"I'm quite a bit stronger than most I'll admit," Ryoga said, pulling her to her feet as easily as if she was a small child. He then glared over his shoulder at the two lightning twins, who had skidded to a halt at the site of Akitsu and Ranma. "Is there any reason why those two are trying to pick on you?"

"They apparently do that kind of thing," Ranma said, glaring at the two twins. "I thought our beat down of you two would've at least put a stop to this kind of thing."

"You got lucky last time punk!" said Hikari, the less busty but far louder twin. The other one seemed to shrink a little at the sight of the two people who had handled them so easily last time they'd fought. "Don't expect to get off that easily this time!"

"Sister, I don't think we should," Hibiki began.

Ranma however had already leapt forward, grinning blue eyes lighting up. "Really, you want to challenge us again?" Akitsu silently moved in his wake, glaring at the two of them as the air all around the combatants began to grow cold.

"Sister!" Hibiki whispered urgently. "We don't have our Norito right now, and without that, I don't think we can win against these two, let alone them and that other one." She shot a cautious glance at the second male there, who had apparently not even felt the impact of a Sekirei barreling into him.

Hikari growled irritably, but conceded the point. "Fine! Just don't get in our way again you weird ass freak, or else…"

Ranma was suddenly in her face glaring at her, having seemingly crossed the intervening distance between one breath and the next. "Or else what? You two are nothing more than bullies! And now you have the gall to mouth off at me?!"

"We're sorry!" said Hibiki quickly, covering her sister's mouth and pulling her away. "But it's just, we want to get experience and hunting down people who haven't been winged also removes competition for later. It might seem like bullying but it's just good strategy."

Ranma visibly pulled in his temper, Akitsu's hand finding his and giving it a squeeze helping more than he would have thought such a thing would a bare few days ago. He didn't like the word freak, especially considering that he had occasionally thought of himself as one since getting his curse. "I can understand that, but these are people's lives right? Are you saying that if you remove someone from the game that they're going to be all right and fine. just not involved in this plan further?"

The twins exchanged a glance. "Our Ashikabi has a theory about that, he doesn't want to share it though. He just said it was fine if we remove them from the game," Hikari said hesitantly, frowning, for the first time not sounding like she was raring for a fight.

"I'd force his theory out of him and make sure that you actually agree with it before continuing this if I were you." Ranma sighed shaking his head. "I understand the need to get experience all, but there are better ways to do it. Hell if you want, you can come by the Tendo Dojo in Nerima, and there'll be someone there to spar with, if not me than my old man. You'll get your experience that way, and no one really gets hurt."

The twins exchanged another telling glance then nodded slowly. "Fine, we'll back off our hunts for now."

"Good girls," Ranma said with a smirk, reaching forward before either could move ruffling their hair then leaping away as Hikari sent out a close range lightning attack that cratered the rooftop where he had just been standing.

Hibiki on the other hand smiled at him, taking her sister's arm and leading her off as she began to shout imprecations at Ranma for treating them like kids. After all, in terms of combat experience she was beginning to realize that Ranma really was the 'adult' here.

"Thank you so much!" said the girl behind them, the one in the priestess outfit. "I'm Musubi, #88. Are you three Sekirei as well?"

She stared hard at Akitsu's forehead, until Akitsu moved behind Ranma feeling a little irritated by the other girl staring like that but unwilling to voice it. Ranma on the other hand simply shook his head. "Ryoga and I are human," he said simply. "We're martial artists, and we've decided, well **I've** decided anyway to get involved in this game and make sure it's being played fairly."

"That's really nice of you!" Musubi replied, seeming to find nothing odd in that statement. "Ugh, those two were chasing me for so long and all I wanted to do was find my Ashikabi. Then I would have been fine with challenging them, but we have to find our Ashikabi before we can take part of the game! I don't know why they were chasing me like that before I could."

Ranma blinked at her, looking over at Ryoga shrugged. "They just said that earlier, it was for the experience."

"Yes I heard that, but I don't understand. I mean isn't following the rules of the game more important?"

"Not to them," Ranma said, shrugging in turn. Ryoga shrugged his shoulders looking around. "Anyway, I'm kind of hungry, you guys want to get something to eat? What about you miss, you look a little ragged?" he asked politely looking at the girl in the priestess outfit. "And do you know what this Ashikabi of yours looks like, we could help you find him."

"No but I'll know him when I find him, that's a Sekirei's secret!" She said thrusting her fist up into the air. "Fate will lead you together, and you'll know it the moment you lay eyes on them." Musubi then blushed slightly as her stomach gurgled incredibly loudly. "But some food would be nice," she added meekly.

Ryoga smiled, gesturing her over the rooftops edge. "Come on then, my treat I suppose."

Behind him Ranma and Akitsu exchanged a glance than Ranma shrugged and followed the two of them, heading into the family restaurant. Ryoga was about to find out exactly how much it cost to feed a Sekirei.

To Ranma's surprise however Ryoga ate nearly as much, putting away in a single meal what Ranma would in a day. He frowned at his old friend who shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't eaten for a while, in fact today was the first day I've found myself in an actual town rather than out in the wild. And for some reason animals don't attack me anymore. I have to hunt them down, and I'm not very good at it."

Ranma nodded. "Makes sense."

With Ryoga and Musubi busy eating and Akitsu being Akitsu, Ranma did most of the talking throughout the meal, talking about Kuno, school, the fact he was behind, and his Father's agreement with the Tendo's. Ryoga shook his head more than once at that part of the tale, evincing an interest in seeing Ranma's curse form, but also thankful he didn't have one. Musubi looked quizzical more than once, as if she didn't understand what was being talked about, and Ranma wondered if maybe she had been sheltered beyond the norm for Sekirei or simply was that naïve.

At the end of the meal Musubi bowed deeply to Ryoga. "Thank you so much, this was so nice of you to buy me all this food, especially when we just met!"

"Not a problem miss, besides it's not like I wasn't hungry myself," Ryoga replied with a chuckle, and Ranma wondered if maybe his father had taught Ryoga more than martial arts when they were together. He seemed to have a lot better manners than Ranma remembered (or had himself).

Ranma then frowned, head cocked as he noticed Musubi was breathing heavily, looking a little dizzy as she stood there, her face flushed. Ryoga noticed too and frowned, leaning forward and touching her forehead. "She's got a fever or something."

"Ryoga-san, I, I…" Musubi began but before they could go on they were interrupted.

"There you are!" They all turned toward the shout and saw two women standing on a nearby rooftop. The one who had shouted had pink hair tied into a pony tail on the right side of her face, coupled with red eyes. She was short but had the muscles and stance of a hand to hand fighter, with reinforced red gloves on her hands like Musubi's. She was also the first Sekirei that Ranma had seen that didn't have at least a decent sized bust. This girl was as flat as a guy.

The second Sekirei looked to be a close quarter combatant, wearing large metallic claws on her hands. She had gray hair obscuring half her face, the other half showing a almost disinterested expression in sharp contrast to her companion's angry eagerness. Like the pink-haired girl she wore a black kimono that looked like a uniform of some kind, though in her case it was rather ragged. Underneath that and visible from this angle she wore skin tight black pants and cloth bandages.

When she saw she had their attention, the pink haired one continued, pointing at Ranma angrily. "You are the one that painted the side of the MBI tower! We've been told to make you realize the error of your ways. Any attacks on MBI are not allowed, even attacks on it's public image like that!"

"By which you mean your president doesn't like the fact that I'm making fun of him, and basically giving him the finger," Ranma said with a smirk, leaping up to face them on another rooftop. He was followed quickly by the other three, though Musubi seemed to be torn between watching the confrontation and staring at Ryoga.

For his part Ryoga was looking on interestedly, knowing that Ranma had a positive gift for getting under people's noses, though he would didn't think that he would've turned it on women. That mention of MBI and a tower there gave him a clue. The priestess on the other hand was simply watching interestedly, her eyes gleaming at the idea of being given permission to start fighting, even though she wasn't feeling very well. Her body was burning up, and she couldn't quite stop looking at Ryoga out of the corner of her eye.

Akitsu on the other hand simply stood there, watchful and waiting. While she did not have a problem with MBI as a whole, she was not about to step back and let Ranma fight their representatives alone either.

"Pretty much," the one with silver hair said shrugging her shoulders and an answering smirk. "But we can't really let that kind of thing spread either. MBI has to be seen as the big dog to make certain that people realize they have to play by its rules."

"Oh yeah, and what exactly are those rules? Because where I'm standing it looks as if so long as you don't hurt bystanders everything's okay. And even that might not be an actual rule so much as a guideline." Ranma asked.

"That doesn't matter! We're just supposed to make certain you realize the error of your ways not teach you the rules. If you actually had a cell phone rather than nothing like a Neanderthal maybe you'd already know them and you wouldn't be due a beat down right now!"

"Heh, bring it on, ya Sakura wannabe!" Ranma shot back, cracking his neck and making a motion with his hands to the two to attack.

Instead of attacking right away though the silver-haired girl with the claws broke down into chuckles, smacking her claw-clad hands on the rooftop having quickly gotten the reference. Benitsubasa however didn't. "Sakura wannabe? I'm Benitsubasa of the Disciplinary squad, the Crimson Sekirei, and you better remember it!"

"Pink hair, no chest to speak of, and a loud voice. Yeah, you're Sakura alright." Ranma said, amused and eager to use the art of pissing people art once more on a Sekirei. It might not have worked against Mutsu that first night, but it did to work on the Thunder twins and the others he'd met.

The silver haired one began laughing even louder now, muttering Ranma's words under her breath, while Benitsubasa seethed. "You, you, how dare you! I'm going to enjoy smashing your head in!" Then she turned to her compatriot, kicking her in the side where she had curled up laughing. "Damn it Haihane, whose side are you on!?"

"Can I get involved in this?" Ryoga asked raising a hand as Beni tried to exhort Haihane into taking this seriously. "I'd like to see how strong these Sekirei are anyway."

Benitsubasa blinked as that question penetrated her anger at her friend and Ranma's words and she turned to Ryoga, shaking her head while Musubi gaped in shock. "If you're a normal human you'd better just get out of the way!"

"I have not been normal for years, ever since I first met Ranma" Ryoga said with a shrug. He went on over Ranma's indignant 'Oy'. "You look like a fist fighter to me miss, so why don't I take you on, while Ranma deals with your friend?"

"Fine by me," Haihane shrugged, standing up fluidly, cocking her head to one side as she looked at Ranma, a smile on her face still from his earlier quips at Beni's expense. "I'm interested in seeing how strong you are. I really don't care about MBI's image or anything like that, I just want a good fight, and at this stage we don't have much worth doing really."

Her friend turned to her angrily but Haihane waved her hand airily, her claws clinking together for a moment. "Not even our boss cares about that," she said bluntly. "Or Karasuba-sama'd be here herself right?"

At that Benitsubasa steamed for a moment but nodded. In fact, that was only part of the reason why the Black Sekirei wasn't there. The other half was that she had been ordered to go after an Ashikabi who was using his Sekirei to murder all his old bosses who had fired him.

Without further ado Benitsubasa charged forward, and Ryoga simply stood there waiting for. _Stupid, no way can a human match a Fist Type in strength!_

But to her shock Ryoga simply redirected the attack to the side, his own fist thrusting forward, and Beni was forced to dodge, the blow whistling over her head. _Fast! And strong._ Her forearm was actually throbbing in pain from his block, thought the opposite also seemed true, with Ryoga backing up, waving the hand he had used to block her blow. "Huh, that was actually much stronger than I expected given your frame."

Beni recovered first, her other fist flashing out catching the beefy man in the chest. He stumbled back slightly before recovering quickly throwing out his punches coming now fast and furious, matching Beni blow for blow. The two of them began to move around one another, neither of them leaving the ground like Ranma would, something Ryoga was happy for. Ranma's Aerial style always gave him fits.

In contrast to his friend/rival, Ryoga's style was built around taking and dishing out punishment. He wasn't a solid rock like the Tendo style users were supposed to be, he moved in a battle, but his style depended on strength, landing few but telling blows, in return for being able to tank any of his opponents. If he ran into someone stronger with more endurance or someone who could just dish out more punishment, such as Ranma with a sword in his hands or his own father, Ryoga would run into problems. But the pink-haired Sekirei, who for some reason wanted to be known as the Scarlet Sekirei, couldn't do that.

For her part however Beni quickly got frustrated from her inability to pound her opponent into the ground. The man in front of her was blocking her best punches, taking them when they slipped through with barely a wince. Worse for her ego, he seemed to be stronger and more experienced than her! That shouldn't have been possible given all of the training she had been given since being chosen to join the Disciplinary Squad. Hell, she'd actually even sparred with Karasuba herself a few times, and had the scars to prove it!

But this human was **stronger** than she was. It took only a few blows for Beni to realize that. She had an edge on speed by a decent margin, but not in pure physical strength, and his endurance was insane. _Let's see if he can handle this then!_

With that thought Beni hopped backwards, her leg lashing out slightly in a feint, causing Ryoga to stop raising his hands to protect his face. By the time he realized that was a feint, she had gotten some distance, and their fist lashed downwards into the rooftop "Destructive quake!"

The rooftop exploded out from her towards him as a wave of power was sent along the rooftop towards her target. Ryoga jumped back, avoiding much of the power of the blow, but was unable to get out of the way as the rooftop fell in somewhat directly below his feet.

Ryoga growled angrily, feeling his lower body caught in this move, as Benitsubasa move towards him grinning viciously. But it wasn't as if Ryoga was injured, no, like Ranma he was angry at the idea that the woman had used such a technique on a building. "What if there had been people in this building!" he shouted, already moving around and digging himself out of the rubble.

The girl shrugged, completely uninterested in the question, while idly noticing the big-titted Sekirei in the miko outfit seemed to be having a fit nearby. She was on her knees, her face flushed a bright red, and her breath was coming in gasps audible to Benitsubasa over the ongoing crunching and groan of the building below them. _Huh, is she reacting to this lug? Too bad for her, but I'm going to break her boy toy._

For his part however, Ryoga decided enough was enough. He charged forward, wrenching his lower body out of the wreckage he showed he was almost uninjured a sight which astonished Benitsubasa. She matched him however, blow for blow and a few more of her blows now got through than before, Ryoga's anger impacting his style. But he simply tanked her blows, though they did actually damage him she could see the bruises she was causing, and at one point even felt a rib break under her blow. But to her horror Beni realized she wasn't stopping him!

His own blows however were so telegraphed she could dodge them, at least at first. Then Beni realized she was being backed into a corner,, heading towards the edge of the rooftop. She tried to leap backwards, only for Ryoga's arm to lash out faster than he had previously moved, grabbing her leg, and then... **THWUMP!**

It was as if Benihad been hit by a main battle tank's round right in the diaphragm, and she grunted in agony, bouncing off the rooftop. literally skipping over a few buildings, before she slammed back first into the wall of a taller building as her ribs screamed at her in agony. _Wh, what the fuck!_ She thought, going to her knees as she stared at the Ryoga who was now racing over the rooftops after her. _What the hell is he! How are humans this strong?!_

 _I, I have to get some distance, let my healing ability get to work, can't take another punch like that or I'll be terminated! Damnit, if only Natsuo-sama had kissed me I could use a norito and end this bastard!_ She thought, pulling yourself out of the wreckage and then looking around desperately, before dropping into an alleyway and racing away on street level, turning and using the back alleys as much as possible, cutting this way and that to throw her pursuer of her trail..

"You won't to get away from me that easily!" Ryoga shouted angrily, chasing after her not noticing that he in turn was being trailed by Musubi. But Musubi lost sight of her quarry soon after he hopped down to peruse Benitsubasa on ground level.

About two minutes after she began to retreat Benitsubasa stopped, no longer hearing sounds of the chase. She turned, hopping up onot a rooftop and staring behind her, hopping to spot her pursuer. But not only did she not spot him, but she saw Musubi also looking around. Ryoga had disappeared without a trace. "W, what just happened?"

 **OOOOOOO**

High up in MBI tower, Takami scowled angrily, shaking her head. "There's more than one of them!? And where the hell did he just go? One minute's recorded going around a corner, the next he doesn't show up on the next camera over? What the hell!?"

In the background she could hear her boss laughing manically, which did nothing at all for her temper until she turned, beaning him across the head with her steel clipboard and knocking him out. That made her feel better, and she turned back to her work more seriously. "Get us a video of the action with the original anomaly and Haihane."

 **OOOOOOO**

"So do you use a weapon other than those claws?" Ranma asked conversationally, stretching and getting ready.

His opponent let him, her claws clinking together as she waved them in the air. "No, just the claws. I mean, I can't use another weapon at the same time as these, can I?"

"Meh, some throwing knives, a chain or something like that might work, and of course something on your legs." Ranma replied. "Still, that means I won't use weapons either."

Haihane cocked her head to one side, not seeing why that would be. She was also looking warily at Akitsu, who was watching them both, her eyes narrowed, and her face even more blank than usual.

"Don't interfere Akitsu, this is a match between the two of us." Ranma said also looking at Akitsu. She looked back for a moment before nodding with visible reluctance. Ranma smiled, reaching over to touch her hair gently, not the patronizing pat he'd used on the thunder twins. "Don't worry Akitsu, I'll be fine, and later we can spar at home, or maybe do something you want to do tomorrow as a present for not interfering?"

That cause Akitsu to nod quickly then she hopped away to a nearby rooftop where she stood, watching the fight as it began.

Ranma and Haihane both charged forward at the same time, Haihane going low, while Ranma took to the air. Haihane quickly corrected, bringing her hands up and around, to try and claw at Ranma but he lightly tapped her palm right behind the claws of her hand, using the momentum to launch his own roundhouse kick which she was forced to block.

Her return strike nearly scored his side and ripped his shirt, but Ranma had moved just enough to evade. Another blow from Ranma made Haihane's head ring for a second, but she tried to get in her own shot, which Ranma was forced to block into turn, though he again used the momentum to stay in the air, and had used his own hand to turn aside her claws, so that only the blunt edges had struck him.

This style of combat was something Haihane hadn't ever seen before, Ranma's hand-eye coordination and dexterity was on a whole other level from most of her opponents, the only one who was similar was Karasuba. And even then while Karasuba could block her blows with the sword, but there was no way she could use her bare hands to redirect attacks like that.

Another punch got through her defenses crunching into her mouth, causing her lip to split. But Haihane merely grinned, licking away the blood and charging forward her hands slashing and flashing, moving in an intricate display of style Ranma haven't quite seen before. There were flashes he recognized, some Chinese Tiger Fist, some Indonesian stuff, but it was all merged into her own style, which while good, lacked some polish. It had innovation and unpredictability on its side, but that didn't quite make up for the lack of experience and refinement.

"Are you self-taught?" he asked seriously, ducking under one particular slash which would've taken him in the head.

"Mostly," she said bringing that hand back in a return attack that caught Ranma in the shoulder, though in return his leg took her high in the chest, throwing her back. "MGU, urh, most of us are. Human trainers could only keep up with us when we were younger, so after that we watched videos of various training styles, and just had to make our own styles as we learned."

"Then you didn't look hard enough!" Ranma said sternly. "I'm human after all, and I can point you to at least six or seven human masters who could help you with that style of yours."

Haihane girl cocked her head thoughtfully humming for a moment. "I'll think about it," she said neither of them seeing anything unusual in the two of them talking like this in the middle of a fight. She quickly went into a series of attacks that was based on trying to keep Ranma on the ground, she had already noticed that he favored taking to the air, and hoped to limit his mobility this way.

It worked somewhat, but in reply Ranma concentrated on dodging more now rather than attacking, waiting for an opportunity to counter. Haihane couldn't land a hit, and eventually she made a mistake, opening her up for his riposte. One of his return blows nearly took her head off, causing her to backpedal as she saw stars.

She frowned, circling around Ranma thoughtfully wondering how to deal with this. Ranma however didn't give her much time, charging forward with a grin on his face. "Analyze the fight later, go with your instincts now!" he shouted, and Haihane had to nod at that, a move that almost cost her since it opened her up for a kick that would've taken her in the side.

She rolled away from it then came up into a leap forward, hoping to close the distance with Ranma before he could rebalance himself from the kick. She couldn't, but Haihane pressed him quickly, getting a few slashes to his clothing and actually drawing blood a few times, but not doing any more than superficial damage.

Akitsu frowned, and Ranma chanced a glance her way. "Don't interfere Akitsu, like I said this is just a spar!"

At her Ashikabi's words Akitsu nodded, but her frown remained on her until she saw two other Sekirei moving over the rooftops towards them. Cocking her head she moved in that direction to put herself between the two incoming Sekirei. They stopped and stared at Akitsu's forehead one of them even smirking as she twirled her staff. "It's the broken one, I suppose we can bring her along to."

Akitsu cocked her head. "…Bring me where?"

"Oh she's a bright one," said the other one shaking her head. "Let's just do it! 104 isn't winged, but she was chosen for the Disciplinary Squad which means she's powerful. She's a real find and this one too. I don't know the guy fighting them, maybe he's another un-winged Sekirei? But our Ashikabi won't want a man anyway."

Akitsu's eyes narrowed very slightly and the air around them becoming colder as she prepared her powers. "You will not interfere in my Ashikabi-sama's fight," she said softly but sternly.

"You're going to stop us alone?!" The one with the staff said with the bark of laughter, before kicking off the ground hard enough to crater the ground under her, leaping forward with her staff outstretched.

Akitsu dodged under it, a wave of ice appearing underneath the attacking Sekirei and zooming upwards into a pillar which caught the girl on the chin, hurling her upwards. She shook her head but still dodged the rain of ice spikes Akitsu sent her way. The other one however closed, forcing Akitsu to back away summoning up a wall of ice to block the punch that would've taken her in the head, and then another one as the staff user pressed in hard from her other side.

But Akitsu was undaunted, moving around swiftly, dodging this way and that as the other two tried to pin her in place. Akitsu had already realized that being pinned in place was the worst thing that could happen.

She gestured and the rooftop froze underneath him, reaching upwards to try and grab onto their legs. The two of them were able to break out of that easily enough, but the ice still hampered their ability to keep their feet. That allowed her to get some distance, and she began to rain ice shards down on them, forcing them to move together, defending each other from her attack. "Dammit! I didn't think the broken one would be this strong!" shouted the one with the staff.

"I am not broken," Akitsu said clearly, remembering her conversation with Ranma. "I might be limited, but that does not mean I am broken! And regardless of my ability to bond being blocked I have a Ashikabi," she said coldly. "I will not submit to another."

 _Even if I could be winged, I would not leave Ranma. Not after all he has done for me, not for after he makes me feel_ _ **warm**_ _!_

Elsewhere Haihane and Ranma had continued to fight, Ranma becoming somewhat impressed by the silver-haired woman. She was quick, very dexterous, and thought on her feet. She also didn't seem to have the regular Sekirei hang-up about disbelieving that a human could get keep up with her and took him seriously from the start, plus had definitely taken her training just as seriously. That was good too. But she wasn't fast enough or strong enough to quite match him. Haihane could hurt Ranma, but not beat him, not alone.

Ironically Beni might well have done more damage per hit than Haihane. But she would have been even more enraged at her inability to land said hit, so it was a moot point.

To her credit however Haihane seemed to realize this, and didn't seem to care. She was still enjoying this fight, giving her all. As Akitsu dealt with the two interlopers Ranma once again changed tactics, allowing Haihane to keep them on the ground once more, but now using his hands to block hers and kicking out strongly at every opportunity.

This began to tell quickly, and she winced now, her thighs bruised heavily and her stomach hurting. She finally couldn't block a single kick that took her high in the chest, flinging her backwards to slam headfirst into the wall of a tall building, just as Ryoga took off after Benitsubasa. Ranma turned in that direction, allowing his opponent to get her feet. "Well it looks like the others have finished their fight too."

Haihane did so, shaking your head woozily from the impact, then grinned and charged forward, still enjoying the fight even though she now knew mentally that she was going to lose this one. But she'd rather go down swinging than anything else. The two of them continued to exchange punches and kicks, but it was obvious that despite having cut Ranma several times, one even making Ranma wince as it had dug into his side, Haihane was losing.

Just as Ranma was about to end the fight Benitsubasa landed beside Haihane, still holding her ribs and looking as if she'd been put through the ringer. "This is getting way too complicated!" she said grumbling angrily as she looked over at the fight going around Akitsu and the two interlopers, watching the broken number take it to the others with her long range attacks.

Ranma nodded looking in that direction to before turning to look at Haihane when he saw Akitsu had it well in hand. "You need to learn more about actual martial arts styles," he said sternly. "You've got a lot of skill, but you need a lot more work on your lower body, and in particular how to defend against kicks. You can't just rely on those claw hands of yours and assume that you can overwhelm an opponent with your speed or strength." He chuckled, shaking her head. "I feel like I've been saying that to a lot of Sekirei lately."

"Martial arts styles exist for a reason, experience and training matter," he said slowly and enunciating each word carefully, smirking at Benitsubasa.

She sadly was too tired to take umbrage at his tone. Ryoga had put her through the ringer, and she had at least four broken ribs to deal with. Even though she was a Fist Type that kind of injury took a at least a few hours to heal unless she received a kiss from her Ashikabi, in which case it could heal in as little as a few minutes. She noticed however that the few wounds her teammate had made on Ranma had already healed, a sight that astonished her.

"Come on," she said muttering to her friend. "Let's get out of here." This whole show the flag thing really hadn't worked out as well as their boss had hoped and it was time to cut their losses.

Haihane simply shrugged her shoulders, tipping her head to Ranma. "See you around."

"Come by the Tendo Dojo if you're looking for a good spar." Ranma replied. With that she turned to join the fight against the two newcomers, missing Haihane's considering look as he turned away.

The two would-be interlopers saw him coming, and scowled angrily. "Time to retreat." one of them said shaking her head.

Akitsu let them go, watching until they were out of sight as Ranma moved to stand beside her, one arm flung over her shoulder. "Great job Akitsu! Two on one and you made them run!"

"Ah…yes…" Akitsu said, leaning in as her face flushed ever so slightly.

A second later the two of them were joined by a frantic Musubi, who looked as if she was somewhere between breaking down and crying or pulling her hair out. "Ranma-san, Akitsu-san, I can't find Ryoga-san anywhere! I tried to keep up with him when he went after Benitsubasa, it was so amazing, but he turned a corner and then was just gone!"

Ranma looked around and shook his head sadly. Damn, the Hibiki family curse strikes again! "I wouldn't' worry about him Musubi, Ryoga knows how to look after himself, he's had just as much practice at that as I have. He'll turn up eventually. Come on, I'll take you to a place you can stay the night I suppose. Though you'll probably have to work at chores around the place to pay for it, and I better tell ya in advance: fear the hanya."

With Musubi still disconsolate following behind them, Ranma and Akitsu made their way back north to Izumo House.

 **End chapter**

* * *

This story wasn't the winner over here on Fanfic, but it was the winner over on my own Pat-R-eon page where it got 348 votes, and I have to say, I had a lot of fun writing it. The character interactions were fun, outside of Kuno, who is just tedious. I think the interactions are still bogging the action down, and time in general has seemed to crawl in this story more than I realized it would, but it is still fun.

I will be trying to get out both the chapter for Magic of the Force, and the winner of the poll over here Fate Touched in Middle Earth, which was the runner up over on Pat R eon. But I am not willing to promise I will be able to, sorry. Given my patron only One Piece/Ranma crossover and the fact Magic isn't finished yet, I don't know if I will have time. I can promise however to try.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, despite my not putting in much ecchi stuff, and please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Sekirei is someone else, and I am not Rumiko Takahashi.

Here is the winner of the small chapter poll! The total results were as follows:

Semblance of Hope won a measly 176 here on fanfic. That's kind of sad I think given how cool the characters and the combat is in the RWBY universe, though this was sort of offset over on Pat a Ron with 352 votes, giving it 528. Gods and Devils and Wild Horses Oh My won 256 votes on fanfic and 288 elsewhere for a total of 544, putting it in second place. But this story, Anything Goes Game Changer won second place here on fanfic 283. It also won 408 over on Pat a Ron. This gave it a total of 691, and made it the winner. Hope everyone likes this chapter!

I say it again, I hate writing Kuno. On the other hand, this chapter has once more been edited by _Michael_ , and he has again done a fantastic job!

* * *

 **Chapter 6 Spreading Headaches and Chaos in Equal Numbers**

"I'm sorry, could you run that by me again?" Miya said, glancing over at the distraught Musubi. It was obvious the girl had reacted to this Ryoga fellow, and to have the person you are reacting to disappear like that must've been a shock to her system. She would no doubt get over it in time. Miya thought, rather worried about the young feather from whom she sensed something…interesting, something hidden inside of her. _I'm only going by what happened to Kazehana, but she got over it within two months or so from what I can remember._ "How did this boy just disappear around the corner like that?"

The four of them were alone at the moment, Kagari having just left for work early to talk to his manager, and Uzume having just taken Nabiki home. That was no doubt a good thing. Musubi didn't seem to be in the right state of mind to deal with Uzume at the moment, though Miya was a little worried about how well Uzume and Nabiki had hit it off while the human girl was here.

Most normal women would have been put off by a Sekirei's beauty if nothing else, but not Nabiki. Despite being a self-professed noncombatant, there was a toughness to the girl and a cool self-control that put Miya it mind of Takami in many ways. _And the way that Uzume ate up all of the money making ideas that Nabiki came up with was also interesting. I did not know that money was such an issue for her, or is that a recent thing?_ Miya thought, before turning back to the here and now as Ranma put down his cup of tea.

"Ryoga has this curse; we think it's a curse, anyway. His entire family has it," Ranma replied. "I've never seen his mom, though apparently she was around at one point when I was going to school with him. His father has it too. You should see their house; it has these strings leading everywhere with notes on them at each intersection that they have to put their hands on and follow from room to room. It's really weird. Ryoga's problem when he was younger was that he refused to admit he had a problem at all, but that seems to have gone away. I was going to give them your phone number, but before I could, those two Disciplinary Squad members arrived."

"And you beat them, both you and Ryoga? Very good indeed," Miya said in amusement before sighing. "Had I known that Ryoga had that problem, I would've come up with a way for him to contact me when he called to ask about you when your father kidnapped you away."

"So is it all right if Musubi stays here with you guys? I already feel bad about the Tendos putting up with me, Akitsu, and my old man, even if I'm helping Nabiki with some of her money making schemes and my father has a part-time job."

"That's perfectly all right met," Miya said looking over at Musubi. "It's probably best that she stay here in any event. I can help her through this. Rejection like this is not something that my people take very well, and with her strength she could do quite a bit of damage if she lost control of herself."

Ranma shrugged at that, not seeing the point. After all he didn't think she was that skilled, not in comparison to him or Ryoga anyway. "It wasn't that," he said deadpan. "Ryoga bought us a meal, and Musubi eats at least twice as much as Akitsu. That's more than even my old man!"

Miya held up her hand over her mouth as she laughed, and Ranma's eyebrow twitched. That was really beginning to bother him. _Why the heck is Miya-nee hiding her mouth when she laughs?_

"Anyway," Ranma said as he stood up, shaking his head of that thought. "It's getting late. Akitsu and I should get going."

He looked over to Musubi. The girl was now sort of rocking in place, holding her knees up to her gigantic chest. Yes, Ranma had noticed. With the size of those things it would've been impossible for anyone with eyes to not have. He just hadn't looked for very long. "Cheer up, Musubi. Ryoga'll be around again. Besides, he's got a cell phone, so maybe he'll remember the name of the dojo I'm staying at, and I'll be able to leave him here."

Musubi looked up with hope shining in her eyes, and suddenly lunged, grabbing Ranma around the middle, pressing her prodigious chest into his lower regions as she squeezed him like he was a giant plushy. "You'd do that for me? Oh thank you, thank you!"

Ranma blushed and tried to get out of her grip, looking over at Miya who was chuckling, and Akitsu who was staring, the temperature around her dropping noticeably. "Yes, yes. If he shows up I'll lead him right to you. Now let me go!"

Thankfully she did before Ranma's self-control could crack. Akitsu immediately moved to stand next to Ranma, lacing one of his hands with hers as she stared down impassively at Musubi. It wasn't that she didn't like the girl. Musubi was happy, outgoing, and seemed kindhearted from what little Akitsu had seen. But even if she wasn't reacting to him, Ranma was her Ashikabi and no one else's! Akitus did not like other Sekirei being around him at all, and she already had to deal with Tsukiumi, who at least had apparently met Ranma before Akitsu had.

Miya chuckled at the possessiveness of the ice Sekirei before gesturing Musubi to the table. "Wait here for me, please. We'll get you set up in a room in a moment." A moment later as she walked Akitsu and Ranma to the door Miya asked, "How long do you think it will take him to show up?"

"I guess around two weeks or so. Maybe three, maybe less. It wasn't like he and I had much time to talk after he showed up before we ran into Musubi, after all. I have no idea what he's done in the intervening years to try and combat his curse other than his cell phone, so I can't really say."

Miya nodded. She honestly had no idea how Musubi's body would react after not being around the one she was reacting to for that long. Kazehana had gone from reacting to trying to wing herself on Minaka in a very short amount of time and then been rejected almost immediately. She had begun to get over it **very** slowly after that, but for weeks Kazehana had been manic, depressed, and over emotional. It was during that time that Kazehana started drinking. Now that wasn't quite the same thing since Musubi had not been rejected as Kazehana had, but it was the closest example Miya had to go with and she couldn't say if Musubi's reaction would be better or worse, she could only be prepared for either. _And I am not going to let her start drinking her problems away like Kazehana!_

"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow for some training time. I'm afraid we'll have to cut the time down for that, though, if I want to keep patrolling during the day, because I've also got some schoolwork I have to see to." Ranma scowled (really pouted) irritably, kicking the sidewalk outside Miya's door. "Still don't get what all that supposed to do for me in the long term."

"It is to make you a better, more rounded individual," Miya replied promptly. "Even if you want to keep learning the martial arts as you are, you need to know about the world around you and how to communicate with people, Ranma."

"Oh, I get that part. The languages are interesting, as is history. It's the science and math stuff I don't care about. And I'm already getting some really odd looks from my science professors over at Furinkan."

"I can't imagine why," Miya said dryly, then ruffled his hair affectionately before nodding to Akitsu. "Stay safe, you two, and I'll see you tomorrow."

The two nodded, with Ranma grinning at her for a moment before leaping away over the rooftops as easily as any Sekirei, and with quite a bit more speed than most. Chuckling, Miya watched them go for a moment before turning inside to prepare a room for her new tenant. _And no doubt she is going to be just as much a freeloader as Mutsu and Uzume. The life of a poor widowed innkeeper is not a pleasant one._

 **OOOOOOO**

Staring at the report from the sensor teams Minaka frowned, leaning back and putting his feet up on his desk as he thought. There were two major issues with the report in his mind, though he bet Takami would have thought the second unimportant at best.

"How did this Ryoga fellow disappear like that?" Minaka mused aloud. One minute Ryoga Hibiki was there, the next, he was simply gone. And none of the other video cameras situated everywhere throughout the city could find any hint of him. It was as if he had just disappeared entirely, until the espionage team had been called in. They had been able to find his cell phone via hacking into his data plan's carrier and then tracing him using Ryoga's own GPS system. It placed Ryoga first in Europe on the Italian/French border, then in Canada, and then in Russia, all in the space of an hour or so!

 _However he did it, if Ryoga really was able to travel to those places, and after seeing Saotome's curse I can't say it isn't possible, this could be a future problem in the making. If he can take others with him like that, he could easily break our containment of the Sekirei Plan here in Shin-Teito. I am going to have to order the sensor teams to be on the lookout for him. The moment he appears again he'll have to be directed away from any un-winged Sekirei, just in case. I'm all for chaos and anarchy, but only when I can see it occurring right in front of me._

Added to this was the second issue. Another un-winged Sekirei had taken up residence in Izumo House. This wasn't normally an issue, since they would have to leave the North to take part in the Sekirei Plan. But Musubi was a problem for a few reasons. She was one of the Sekirei Karasuba was most interested in fighting, and if she received training from 01 then the odds of the two meeting too soon in the game would go up since Karasuba would be certain to search her out. Musubi was also one he was most interested in watching the progress of given her core had been donated to her by 08, Yume, the leader of the second generation of the Disciplinary Squad.

 _And she joined four other un-winged Sekirei residing in 01's impenetrable castle. Kagari, Matsu, Kocho, and now Musubi. Kocho is no great loss, though her norito is, of course, unknown, she has no desire to participate in the game at all. Matsu is a thorn in MBI's side, but the jinki she stole is of little concern any longer. Kagari is another irritant, but a small one, since he intends and can be made to take part in the game. Still, they are also apparently allied with number 7, Akitsu, and this Ranma fellow. While I enjoy the way Ranma has added such magnificent anarchy to the game, I would not like his idea of simply not playing it at all to spread, though admittedly that is doubtful in terms of Musubi._

"Still, perhaps I am worrying overmuch. And if it gets to the point that too much anarchy is spreading, I will simply have to send Karasuba to cut out the source of it all…"

 **OOOOOOO**

As they jumped and ran along the rooftops Ranma looked over at Akitsu, who was running beside him now, having come to realize which he wanted her to do that rather than simply trail behind him. He was making more progress with her every day, though she was still not showing any real emotions on her face.

"You know," he began, coming to a halt on a rooftop as he looked around for street signs to make sure they were going the right direction. "You did very well against those two Sekirei who tried to take you away. And um, you've been doing well overall with how much more outgoing you've been. I also know that staying out of my fight with Haihane was tough for you. So um, do you want anything, you know, as a sort of reward?"

Akitsu nodded her head so quickly that it looked like she was already answering before Ranma finished speaking. "I want a kiss, master."

Blushing, Ranma backed away a little, but he couldn't go far because Akitsu grabbed his hand. "Well, that is…um…that wasn't what I had in…r-really?"

Stepping close and looking up into his eyes, she nodded once. "Ahh… You don't want to, master? You, you find me unattractive?"

"That's not it at all!" Ranma said, flailing his hands to both sides as his blush escalated. "You're gorgeous! I mean, of course anyone would, that is…"

Akitsu almost allowed a smile to appear on her face but kept it down for the moment. "Ahh… then that is what I want, master."

Ranma winced, his blush fading slightly. "You're still calling me that. I…"

"…Ashikabi-sama, we have not exchanged a kiss. That is the traditional way for a Sekirei and Ashikabi to bond. I know that this," Akitsu touched the large mark on her forehead, "means we cannot, but I can at least try, master."

"I don't think it will, Akitsu. You, you shouldn't get your hopes up."

"But that is not the only reason I want to kiss you, mas-, that is, Ranma-sama. I know that the odds are low that doing so will let me bond to you. I want to kiss you because I want to kiss you," Akitsu went on quickly, putting her arms around Ranma's body and holding him still, pressing her chest into his and staring soulfully into his eyes. "You are my bonded one regardless of my lack of wings," she said, moving slightly against him, her chains rattling.

That sound caused Ranma to flush and look away, remembering a magazine one of the guys at school had sold to another guy in the locker room. The cover had been of a woman in chains, a happy, almost ecstatic smile on her face.

Ranma knew he was attracted to Akitsu and really wouldn't have minded being in a relationship with her long-term, but there were two things that were bothering him. One was the ongoing issue with the Tendos and his father, with the promise to marry one of the Tendo girls. Admittedly his father had cooled on the idea somewhat, but it was still there in his mind. Though Ranma had yet to see anything concrete that indicated that the Tendos had a school of their own that made it a worthwhile idea.

But more importantly to Ranma was the fact that he didn't know if Akitsu was really interested in him, like he had said to Nabiki. That she was interested in him as Ranma, not as her savior anyway. It was an important distinction, in Ranma's mind at least. These issues were added to the fact that she wasn't the only girl he had confused feelings towards. Ranma also felt something towards Tsukiumi and Nabiki.

He didn't understand or know how to act on those feelings, but he knew they were there, at least. _Still, I can I can at least kiss her, right?_ "Um, all, all right," he said hesitantly.

He leaned down, and their foreheads banged together for a moment, then their noses, as Ranma didn't realize he had to turn his head just a little bit to give her a kiss, and Akitsu hadn't had any idea either. When they did get it right, their lips briefly touched one another. Then Akitsu leaned in a little more, pressing her lips against his and Ranma responded, instincts that he didn't know he had welling up inside him.

His arms went around Akitsu and vice versa, though one of her arms slowly dropped from his back to his rear, squeezing it causing Ranma to squeak a little and open his mouth. Akitsu took advantage of this, her tongue moving into Ranma's mouth to find his, snaking around and along it.

Ranma almost froze at that, but slowly began to respond, his own lips warm and moving against hers, his tongue now dueling with Akitsu's in his mouth, then slowly pushing back into hers, exploring it in turn. _She did it to me, so that means it's okay for me to do it to her, right?_ was Ranma's rather disjointed thought at that moment. Following this thought one of his hands went down her back to Akitsu's rear squeezing it through her kimono, and Akitsu moaned, holding him tighter. Their other hands moved up to twist in one another's hair.

The kiss couldn't become more intense, that would've been impossible, but they hugged one another trying to almost fuse their bodies together, and Akitsu's entire body began to shudder until she was forced to lean away, panting. A rosy blush was visible on her normally porcelain cheeks, her breath coming in short gasps as she leaned her head against Ranma's chest.

He held her gently, the hand on her rear moving up to her lower back as his other fell to her upper back, his own breathing ragged. "Was, was that what you wanted?"

"That and more, Ranma," she said breathlessly, looking up at him with several undefinable emotions in her eyes which Ranma couldn't name but which caused him to blush in turn. "You're so warm!"

Akitsu pulled away looking up into his eyes, her own eyes slightly glassy. "You **warm** me," She said repeating the line that she had used in the bath when she came into wash his back. Then she leaned up and kissed Ranma very lightly on the lips before moving slightly away on suddenly wobbly legs.

She stumbled and Ranma reached for her, but she righted herself quickly. Now that the event was over though Ranma's nerves came back. He took a quick step backwards, blushing bright red and looking away. "We, we should get going."

"I agree…Ranma," Akitsu said, looking down at her body for a moment, a brief flare of something like consternation in her face, though the reason was lost to Ranma.

It didn't take more than around ten minutes more to get back to the dojo. Leaping over the outer wall into the garden they saw Genma and Soun sitting on the patio around a shogi board. Neither of them bothered to look up, but Genma asked, "Anything happen while you were out?"

"Saw Ryoga, ran into a few fights, including one against a claw user who might stop by," Ranma reported succinctly.

At that Genma looked up, missing Soun moving a few pieces around quickly before he could look back down to the table. "Truly fascinating. I look forward to meeting her and seeing if she outshines Akitsu's physical abilities as you keep saying they do. It should be interesting to see how fast a Sekirei that specializes on close-in combat is able to learn."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Still, I had to take her down pretty hard, so I don't know when she'll show up."

"Bah, even that will be interesting to discover given your own fast ki-assisted healing," Genma said, waving that off.

Heading inside, Akitsu and Ranma found Nabiki watching some news broadcast about stocks in the main room, writing down on a piece of paper as she munched on a rice cracker. Akane was on the floor working on some history homework. Kasumi was sitting beside Nabiki, reading a book on gardening judging by the cover. Both of them looked up as the two guests landed in the garden, moving quickly into the house from the patio.

The two older girls took one look at Akitsu and then over at Ranma, their eyebrows going up. "There something you want to share with the class, Ranma-chan?" Nabiki drawled, trying to keep a hint of jealousy out of her voice. _God dammit, I am not interested in him to that extent, not yet. Yes, okay, he's sexy as hell, I admit it. But that is no reason for me to to get so interested in a boy after so short a time!_

"We got into a few fights but nothing major, but an old friend of mine could be coming around in the next few months," Ranma said, not realizing that his lips were a little red, or that Akitsu was still looking a glassy eyed and was walking awkwardly. Or that Nabiki had spotted a line of some kind of perspiration running down her inner leg when Akitsu walked forward, letting her legs be seen thanks to her kimono. It was running down in a clear trail down to mid-thigh.

"He's got a sort of family curse thing that makes him get lost really easily, but I mentioned the Tendo dojo to him so he might stop by looking for me. If you guys could keep him here at least until I give him Miya's phone number I'd really appreciate it. And he also mentioned I should probably buy myself a cell phone. I'm not really happy about the idea, but if we can find a small place that sells used cell phones that isn't tied to MBI, or some place that sells a cell phone that can't be tracked? I don't actually know enough about them to know how likely that is."

"Not very, though we might be able to hire someone from one of the clubs at school to make it untraceable physically. Still, every time you answer a call you would be traced by the call," Nabiki mused, distracted for the moment. "I'll look into it."

"Cool," Ranma said. "Still, I suppose I should head up and start my homework. Kasumi, did you set up your room for Akitsu?"

"I did," Kasumi said with a smile, hiding a spark of curiosity in her eyes. "Come with me, Akitsu. We'll go have a bath, and then I'll show you to my room."

"I'll come too, sis," Nabiki said hurriedly, stretching in place, smiling as Ranma tracked the movement for a brief second before looking away. That made Nabiki feel a lot better suddenly. "I have some questions I want to ask Akitsu anyway. Have fun studying, Ranma."

Ranma groaned, causing both sisters to giggle as he left the room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kasumi and Nabiki pounced. "That's not all that happened, is it, Akitsu?" Nabiki asked, taking the girl's arm and leading her towards the bathhouse.

Akitsu paused at the entrance to the bathhouse, looking back at Ranma mournfully for a few moments before turning back to her.

"Your lips are a little bruised," Nabiki elaborated as Kasumi leaned in too, interest in her eyes.

She might have been less overt about it, but Kasumi was still a young woman, darn it! _Bodice rippers are all well and good, but listening to some actual romantic moments would be nice._

Akitsu actually blushed, and Nabiki pulled her into hug with her arm over Akitsu's shoulder. "Come on, this is part of being a girl. You have to share things with us," she wheedled.

"Only if you want to," Kasumi said, poking her sister in the shoulder, though that did nothing to dim the curiosity in her eyes.

"We kissed," Akitsu said simply. "Master, that is, Ranma, asked me if I wanted a reward for not butting into his own fight and dealing with two interlopers on my own. I asked for a kiss, and he gave it to me."

Akitsu's hands went up to her forehead, tracing the mark there before sighing. A part of Akitsu had actually hoped that kissing Ranma like that would've broken through whatever barrier was making her unable to wing herself on him. But given the feelings and the emotions that had thrummed through her, Akitsu couldn't picture bonding with him would be any better.

"It was that good? That you found the clouds and rain?" Nabiki asked, watching as Akitsu trailed off, her porcelain skin darkening noticeably under her eyes as she blushed again.

Akitsu had come across that phrase in some of Uzume's books, and she looked at Nabiki in shock, pausing in getting undressed.

"Your walking is rather unstable, my dear," Kasumi interjected. "And, *ahem* you um, you have some evidence of your excitement on your legs…"

Looking down Akitsu could only blush once more, her porcelain skin noticeably becoming pink. She quickly got undressed, making the other two realize she had once more forgotten her panties, hence why the excitement had become visible. Not noticing that Akitsu entered the bathroom faster than either of the sisters had seen her move before this. But Kasumi and Nabiki quickly followed her, getting undressed themselves.

The three now naked girls were all beautiful, if somewhat different. Akitsu was a contrast. Despite her pearl-like skin which made it seem as if she had never spent a day in the sun, her body was fit and athletic save for her somewhat large breasts, which despite their size were perky and firm. Having kept in shape through various exercises Nabiki also looked fit, but Akitsu actually was surprised that Kasumi looked somewhat trim if not athletic. Neither girl had much muscle definition in comparison to Akitsu, though Nabiki's legs had a bit, and neither girl had much excess fat on them. Kasumi's breasts, while smaller than those of Nabiki or Akitsu who were somewhat of a size, were somewhat fuller and bounced slightly more than theirs. Her long hair, undone now, cascaded down to the middle of her back in honey brown waves, and Akitsu idly wondered if she should grow her hair out, wondering if Ranma liked longer or shorter hair.

Both Tendo girls sat down, cleaning themselves on the stools closest to the bath. "So, did Ranma notice?" Nabiki asked mischievously. Turning her head after dunking a pail of water over her hair she saw Akitsu shake her head, still blushing hotly.

That caused Nabiki to throw her head back with a laugh. "Damn, only Ranma would be so dense as to miss the fact he gave a girl an orgasm." _Although the fact he was able to give her one in the first place with just a kiss does make you wonder…_

 **OOOOOOO**

That evening Akitsu slept in Kasumi's room for the first time, and oddly enough found that given their earlier moment, she was content with this arrangement, if not pleased. The next day she woke up with Kasumi to help her, and after waking up Nabiki with her mug of coffee was thrilled to get a kiss on the cheek and a hug from her Ashikabi. _If I have that to look forward to every morning I will forego the pleasure of sleeping in Ranma's bed, especially since I then don't have to deal with Genma_. That was not a minor consideration in Akitsu's eyes given what she had felt when the older Saotome looked at her naked when she got up to go to the bathroom. Although having Akane glaring at her and her Ashikabi did irritate Akitsu somewhat.

Thanks in part to this change of routine, the next two days passed relatively uneventfully at the Tendo dojo and in the main elsewhere for Ranma, Akitsu, and the others. Nabiki began to sell off copies of the pictures and started work on a few money making schemes for Uzume's benefit, and Akitsu's training continued during the day with Genma. In the afternoon she sparred with Akane while Ranma did some homework, then after a bath would go to Izumo House where Ranma would train with Miya before going on patrol.

Even the patrols settled down somewhat, as according to Matsu MBI had decided to randomize the releases of the last dozen Sekirei so that they couldn't be ambushed any longer by their winged sisters. They found several matches a day, but only a single uneven fight over those two days. The moment the two showed up, however, the group of ambushing Sekirei backed off, allowing their un-winged sister, a young woman wielding a naginata, to go on her way.

However this only seemed to concentrate the craziness at Izumo House.

On Tuesday Ranma and Akitsu arrived to a banging crash as Uzume leaped out of the bathhouse's window wearing nothing but a towel followed by Musubi who was bare ass naked. "Gah! Dammit, Musubi-chan, I don't want to fight you! I wasn't showing off, just telling ya I was a Sekirei!"

"Musubi doesn't believe you!" the naked girl shouted, charging forward. Her large, melon like breasts bounced and wobbled in every direction as she charged, though not nearly as much as they would have if she was a human, seeming to be very firm for all their size. Her flat, toned stomach was also on display, as was the small v-shape of her pubic hair.

"GAAHH!" Ranma mumbled, nearly losing control of his hop from the last roof to Izumo's garden. Ranma had a lot of self-control, it came from being a martial artist and his own personality. But there were limits, and a naked girl, especially one with Musubi's proportions, shattered that self-control. Blood began to ooze from his nose, and he could only stare as his upper brain functions began to shout for help due to blood necessary for their function rushing elsewhere.

Seeing this Akitsu's face showed no visible reaction. For all that she was becoming more emotional on a daily basis thanks to being around Ranma her expressions had yet to become more demonstrative. Nevertheless anger seemed to boil off her, and she swiftly lashed out with her powers, creating a wall between Musubi and her target.

A second later Musubi crashed into and off the ice, while Uzume leaped backwards, sending a grateful look Akitsu's way. "Thanks for the assist, Icy-chan! HAHHA!" she laughed, pointing at Ranma. "Look's like bro there is going to need a blood transfusion, though."

She moved towards Ranma around the ice as Akitsu glared at the downed Musubi in her normal, impassive manner. Uzume leaned over towards him nearly forcing him to look down her chest. "Good to know you have a pulse, bro…" she whispered huskily, then danced away with a laugh as Ranma seemed to break out of his stupor, falling back on his rear and shaking his head, his eyes wild.

"Mah, mah, mah… Uzume-san, you should know illicit activities are forbidden in Izumo House. As is actual fighting…" All four individuals in the garden shuddered as a Miya came out, a hanya mask already out spreading darkness around it, the sound of two wooden slats smacking together sounding out accompanied by an unseen wind. The image was finished by more masks appearing one after another in slow motion as she stepped forward, one mask per step.

Uzume quickly hid behind Akitsu who had already moved behind Ranma, while he and Musubi were caught in the open, frozen with fear. Even Ranma couldn't quite muster enough courage to pull out his notebook. "EEE, I'm sorry Miya-nee! We just got here and…!"

"I know, Ranma," Miya replied, and with that the terror and pressure of her technique faded somewhat, on him at least. "I was mainly talking to Musubi and Uzume there, as well as Akitsu."

She looked at Akitsu, who was poking her head out from around Ranma, and gestured to the wall of ice. "While I appreciate the fact you did this to stop the fighting here, could you please remove this?"

 _That, and she no doubt would have attacked Uzume for that bit of teasing there in the end. I wonder why Uzume does that occasionally. Is it just her way, or is she actually somewhat attracted to Ranma despite being with Chiho?_ Miya thought, before setting that mystery to the side for another time.

"As for you, Musubi, please go and put some clothing on. Running around naked is a most immodest thing for a young woman to do, and I will not allow it."

"Immodest?" Musubi asked innocently, having bounced back from her first exposure to the hanya mask. "What's that?"

The others all looked at her in surprise, and Miya sighed. "I see your education in the human world is sorely lacking, Musubi-chan. I think we will have to correct that."

At that point Kocho came out dressed in a one piece dress that looked remarkably severe alongside her glasses, despite her epic bed-head and bleary expression. "What did I miss? And what the heck happened to the bathroom?"

Later, after being told what had sparked the fight, Miya sighed, watching as Ranma surveyed the damage done to the outer wall when Uzume burst through it. The window into the bathhouse was small and high up the wall, more intended to let in cool air than anything else, and Uzume could never have fit through them, so she had been forced to smash open the outer wall to get away from Musubi's rampage. "That girl, honestly. I see we're going to have our work cut out for us. To think she would assume you were showing off, Uzume. That's rather sad."

Musubi was sitting seiza style nearby with the various bits of wood and other things Ranma was currently using piled on her lap in punishment for the damage she had done to the inn. She was looking rather morose, though Miya doubted the weight of it bothered her nearly as much as Miya could wish for the girl's damaging her home.

"Meh, I think Musubi-chan's just going through a rough patch. I remember the time when Chiho-chan was trying to convince me I shouldn't bond with her. And she was still, y'know, here and visible. This Ryoga guy's not even in the city any longer. Has to be harder for her," Uzume replied.

"Hmm, that's true, and I won't really come down on her for that, but the girl doesn't seem to have much in the way of common knowledge. Imagine, running around naked like that." Miya let out another sigh, shaking her head.

"Heh, I didn't hear bro complaining about it, did I, bro?" Uzume shouted out, causing Ranma to twitch where he was working on the outer wall. "How about we get Icy-chan to try the same thing? Bet you'd die of blood loss!"

"Probably, yeah," Ranma muttered, shaking his head. "Damn nearly did when…" Before Ranma could incriminate himself further he clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head to dispel the image of Akitsu when she had joined him in the bathhouse at the Tendo place.

Akitsu smiled her small, almost imperceptible smile at that, looking up at Ranma from where she was steadying the ladder Ranma was currently using since he needed both hands for the work on the wall. Ranma looked down, and they locked eyes for a moment. Ranma blushed but didn't look away, matching Akitsu's broadening smile with one of his own before giving his head a shake and returning to the task at hand.

Both Uzume and Miya had noticed this, and exchanged a very girlish giggle at the romance developing between the broken Sekirei and the wild horse. "Better than those midday soap operas." Uzume whispered.

Later that day when she saw Ranma and Miya practicing, Musubi tried to join in by attacking them with a shout of, "I want to join in too!"

Ranma reached out lightly to redirect a wildly obvious but powerful haymaker down, leaping up into the air and kicking out at Miya, who had learned quickly to force Ranma to stay on the ground as much as possible. Doing so taught Ranma to rely more on speed and also built up his strength since he had to block rather than dodge or redirect the energy of her strikes in that manner. It also made their matches shorter, which was good considering the duty Ranma had taken on to patrol the city.

She dodged backwards now, her sheathed blade flashing up faster than Musubi could track to bat Ranma's leg aside. But Ranma used that momentum to twist around, kicking out at Musubi catching her on the chin and sending her to her rear. "Gonna have to do to better than that, Musubi!" he caroled.

Pushing off the ground, Musubi laughed, throwing out a series of wild punches. "Musubi will!"

"Well, this seems to have drawn Musubi out of her depression, at least," Miya said dryly, before attacking them both, pressing Ranma down and to one side while she flashed around Musubi, smacking her here and there as she called out instructions.

While Musubi began to adapt given Miya's instruction, Miya was surprised to realize that Ranma's learning curve was actually better than the fist type Sekirei's. Every time they sparred Ranma was better in some fashion, his style and tactics slightly better even if his base abilities, his strength and speed, did not grow at the same rate. Musubi wasn't nearly as quick to adjust her style, but she was still a physical powerhouse. In Ranma's opinion she was better than he was when he first showed up in Miya's garden by a decent margin, but not close to his or even Ryoga's current level.

The sparring ended soon, and Ranma made to join Akitsu, who had been watching form the sidelines, to head out on patrol. Once more Musubi wanted to join in, but this time Miya negated it. "I allowed you to join the training session, but letting you go out on patrol on top of that after this afternoon's confusion is a bit too much like rewarding you for your actions this morning, I think. No, instead you will stay here and we will discuss what you know of the human world and people in general. I get the distinct impression that a lot of your education was severely lacking."

"Oh, pooh. I thought I knew how to fight well enough before coming here," Musubi pouted. "What else do I need to know?"

"Hmm… Where have I heard that before…?" Miya glanced over at Ranma dryly, and Ranma had the decency to duck his head apologetically, acknowledging the point before he leaped away, leaving Musubi for Miya to deal with.

The next day it wasn't Musubi who was the source of the chaos, but Ranma's curse and his being free with his connection to Izumo House.

Miya turned from where she was sparring with Akitsu and Musubi for a moment as the doorbell rang. She had wanted to see what progress the ice-wielder was making training with Genma and Ranma at the Tendo dojo, and had come away impressed with her skills. Not so much her strength or speed, those were much harder for an element type to train to a higher level, though Akitsu was already at least as fast as Musubi. Even if she was nowhere near as strong, Akitsu was still able to dodge and wear out the more straightforward Musubi. And her tactics and style were already much better than they had been.

"Ranma, could you get that for me?" she asked, not wanting to leave the two younger feathers alone, fearing that the match might become a full scale fight without her there.

Ranma was inside replacing the bathhouse's floor, which had been cracked and weakened in places thanks to Musubi's rampage the day before, as well as two of the faucets. Since he was working with plumbing, Ranma had decided not to tempt fate and had changed into his female form just in case. This had proven a prophetic move, given that Ranma had been splashed by some of the water that had somehow stayed in a broken faucet when she removed it from the wall.

Sighing, Ranma stood up from her work, moving to the doorway. Outside she found Tsukiumi standing there, looking around the inn's front yard with approval, possibly to mask a certain amount of nervousness. She turned as the door opened and smiled at seeing the redhead there. "Ah, so this was the right address. Excellent. How are you, Ranma? It hath been several days since last I saw you. And why are you wet again?"

"Hey Tsukiumi, I'm good. You here to train?" Ranma asked. "As for being wet, I'm working on a bit of the plumbing and got wet somehow. I'll show you to the backyard. Akitsu is out there with Miya-nee now, and another Sekirei who I saved from the Thunder Twins. You know who those are?"

"Ah, yes. I have had the displeasure of making their acquaintance. Verily they are a most irksome twosome," Tsukiumi replied, shaking her head as she entered the inn, looking around appreciatively. "My, this is a most traditional inn. I approve. I would like more modern appliances around, but the actual design is much to my liking."

"Heh, Miya-nee will appreciate that, I'm sure. How's life been treating you? Have you run into trouble besides Hikari and Hibiki?" Ranma asked.

"Indeed I have. Though I learned not to venture into the east or south of the city and stayed mostly in the north and west, I did run into a few very combative Sekirei, apparently part of a Nishi Sanada's flock in the west." Tsukiumi began, following Ranma through the inn to the backyard where she could already hear the sound of combat. "They were most rude and violent, as well as skilled, though of course I won despite that."

That battle had been a far closer thing than Tsukiumi would ever admit aloud, and she had in fact more survived and escaped than won. Yes, she had left one of the leather bustier-wearing women bleeding on the ground behind her, but she too had been exhausted and wounded, hence why it had taken her so long to search out Izumo House. And even that had only been because she had taken Ranma's advice and worked on short range techniques, a water sword and a water shield respectively.

Outside they found Akitsu and Musubi fighting. Musubi kept on trying to keep the range close, trying to pin Akitsu in place against the wall or in some fashion limit her maneuverability. Akitsu, in contrast, didn't try to open up the range to use her ice powers, rather she closed hard on any openings Musubi had in her defense, of which there were many since Musubi relied on wide angle blows and brute force rather than control. Her blows didn't matter much taken one on one, but they added up.

As Tsukiumi watched another blow got in between Musubi's arm and chest, taking her right under the armpit and she jumped away, letting loose a wince of agony. "GAHhh, what was that?!"

"There are several places on the human body where if you hit them it will cause too much pain for your opponent to do much." _I should know, my old man trained me to be as near to immune to that kind of a hit as anyone can be._ "I think that's enough for now, you two." So saying, Ranma moved to stand between them, looking quizzically at Akitsu. "Did you know that would be so painful when you targeted your attack there, Akitsu-chan?"

Akitsu nodded. "Yes, Genma did the same thing to me yesterday during a midday spar." She paused, her normally stoic expressions shifting very slightly to show a grimace. "It hurt, so I expected it would work on Musubi."

"Ara, then it marks the end of this training session, as does this young lady's arrival. Ranma, why don't you introduce us to our new guest?" Miya "asked," looking at the blond feather expectantly.

"Oh, right, sorry. Where's my manners?" Ranma replied, pulling at his pigtail. "Miya-nee, this is Tsukiumi, the Sekirei I saw fighting off four others that first evening while I was coming to Izumo after getting back to Tokyo. Tsukiumi, this is Miya. Don't let her mild appearance fool ya, she's an excellent swordswoman on top of being this place's keeper." _Anything else, it's up to Miya to share._

Tsukiumi nodded her head formally, though she was looking at Miya rather askance. Despite the sheathed blade in one hand, Miya just did not give her the impression of being a powerful warrior. "Hmm, it is a pleasure Landlady-dono. I came here to ask if you could train me as you have Ranma."

"Hmm… We will see if that is indeed a possibility," Miya replied. "First I would like you to attack me as strongly as you can for five minutes. After that, I think you and Ranma would both learn something from sparring with one another."

She sighed, looking over at Ranma with a pout. "Really Ranma-kun, since when did my inn become a makeshift training center, hmmm? I would very much prefer a peaceful life you know."

"Yeah, but think about it this way, the stronger me and those allied with me are, the more wrenches into the Great Game we can throw," Ranma replied with a smirk.

"There is that," Miya said, before shaking her head. "Nevertheless, I think I would prefer after today if Tsukiumi and Musubi joined Akitsu and yourself training at the Tendo dojo rather than here." She gestured to her backyard, sighing. "My garden has already suffered enough as it is."

She then blinked, one hand rising to her mouth as she turned to Tsukiumi. "Ara, I apologize. Please, begin."

Narrowing her eyes Tsukiumi gathered her willpower, water appearing out of the air around her. _She's not taking me seriously!_ "Water Celebration!" she shouted, and battering rams of water shot forward, each a different size and speed from its fellows, coming in at multiple angles. Tsukiumi couldn't create her attacks from that far away, that is, she couldn't start an attack from one position while she was in another distant one, but she could control the direction of the attacks at will, which she did now.

It didn't matter much at all to Miya, who dodged around and between her attacks as if they were standing still, her sword lashing out as she did, so quickly none but Ranma could see it move. Each time her sheathed sword hit one of the water attacks the attack dissipated, shattering even as Tsukiumi tried to retain their forms.

Narrowing her eyes Tsukiumi tried to jump up to the roof of the inn, causing Matsu, who was in her room as normal, to look up at the clatter of her feet on the roof. More water condensed out of the air, and Tsukiumi launched another attack, this time pulses of thin water shaped into arrows and going far, far faster than her previous attacks. "Water Arrow Barrage!"

But the added speed simply made Miya smile, and suddenly they all shattered. Her voice registered from behind Tsukiumi who couldn't turn before a slight impact hit the middle of her back, pushing her off balance. Even as Tsukiumi wind-milled her arms frantically to keep from falling off the roof, Miya spoke calmly. "Hmm, there are so many openings there. I think, however, that you would benefit from learning from Ranma before training with me. In fact, I think all three of you would benefit from that."

Tsukiumi scowled, but kept her temper under control as she analyzed how quickly the other woman had neutralized her attacks with seemingly no effort. "Very well," she said, gritting her teeth slightly to get the words out. She then looked down at Ranma, barking, "You, where do you live? I apparently am not at a level where Landlady-dono will consent to train me."

Below in the backyard Akitsu's eyes narrowed slightly, her equivalent of a glare, as she looked up at the very arrogant water user. Musubi, however, thrust her hand into the air. As interesting as it was to fight Miya or Akitsu, Musubi actually gained more fighting Ranma, and she found it a lot more fun too. There was no sign of her depression over Ryoga's absence now and she was eagerly looking forward to more sparring. "Ooh, ooh, me too! This way I won't have to wait here for Ryoga-san to come back either!"

"Meh, so long as it doesn't cut into my training time with ya, Miya-nee, that's fine by me. They can train with my old man during the week and me on the weekends," Ranma replied, her shoulders shifting. "Still, we're here now, so why don't I start Musubi on some more katas, and Akitsu and Tsukiumi can find a nearby empty lot or something and start training against one another?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Do you think I am unworthy of your training?" Tsukiumi growled, then before Ranma could reply began to attack. The other girl's attitude had irritated her, and she had the desire to fight someone who was hopefully nearer to her own skill level than Miya. Ranma yelped and dodged to one side, then had to continue dodging as Tsukiumi continued to attack, until Miya interrupted her via a smack to the blonde's head.

Elsewhere the days were just as fraught as Ranma's time at Izumo House, if for very different reasons.

 **OOOOOOO**

Karasuba groaned, her blade halting in midair halfway through a kata as the sound of Benitsubasa's shrieking something reached her ears. Whatever the hell had happened to her compatriots had affected them both deeply. Karasuba had not looked into it, not caring in the slightest, having just come back from a slash and hack job. Minaka had sent her to deal with a Sekirei and Ashikabi pair who had been murdering the man's previous employers, and enjoying it too.

That, and the fact she also didn't care about her so-called subordinates. They were weak, it was that simple. She might be the Disciplinary Squad captain on paper, but she couldn't care less about them as individuals or about this whole leadership thing. So long as she had missions like her last one that put some blood on her sword, that was the only thing she cared about.

 _Well that, and some_ _ **fucking**_ _peace and quiet, maybe!_ With that thought Karasuba sheathed her sword in one smooth motion, not even looking at what she was doing, before stomping over and nearly ripping the door into the hand-to-hand training area off its hinges. "Benitsubasa, Haihane, shut up!" she barked.

She let out so much killing intent that both of her squad members quailed, shrinking back from her in fear. The pink-haired one almost looked as if she was going to bolt, but Karasuba was standing between her and the doorway. Haihane looked worried, shivering in place, but wasn't making any move towards the door.

Karasuba took in their responses for a brief moment, smirking at them, but then went on quickly. "What the hell are you two arguing about now! It's getting so I can't concentrate on my own training."

"This **traitor** is actually thinking of going to the dojo that Ranma guy who beat her up is apparently a part of. Can you believe that?" Benitsubasa began, her tone strident but her body language wary.

"Wait, start at the beginning. There aren't that many Sekirei men, and I would've heard about it if you fought with number 5. In fact, I would've been very angry if you had fought with Mutsu," she said coldly, looking at them both. "He's one of mine, understand?" As a fellow swordsman and a veteran like herself from the first Disciplinary Squad she had some smidgeon of respect for Mutsu. So she was eagerly looking forward to the time when she could cut him down.

"No, it wasn't him!" Haihane replied quickly, waving her claw hands frantically. "In fact, Ranma isn't a sword user at all, I don't think. He used his bare hands against me. And he was a human, not a Sekirei," she said after a moment.

"You're joking," Karasuba said, shaking her head, a sneer on her face. "None of these over-evolved monkeys are strong enough to take on a Sekirei."

"Yeah, well these were," Benitsubasa said, shaking her head and getting some of her normal arrogance back now that it seemed Karasuba wasn't going to attack them. "The one I fought was actually physically stronger than anyone I've ever faced. He took my best shots, and it was like I was trying to knock down a building. Most of my blows just didn't matter, and the one blow that did he was too angry to notice."

"And you say you both lost to these humans?" Karasuba said, looking over at Haihane and becoming more interested now.

"The one human who was our actual target, Ranma, he was involved in the painting of the tower. The boss said to go and rough him up a little. Didn't turn out that way, though. Maybe it would have if we'd come across just Ranma, but even that's doubtful since he had the broken one with him," Haiahne said, shrugging as if she didn't care at all about it.

"Humans can actually fight us?" Karasuba said, still skeptical.

"Actually, I have heard rumors from some of the workers that Ranma is connected to 01. Maybe he was trained by her; that could be why he's so strong. Maybe the other one was too, who knows?" Benitsubasa said.

"Interesting!" Karasuba said, suddenly very, very focused. "Who was spreading those rumors?"

"Someone from the Sensor division, I think."

"I'll have to look into that myself," Karasuba mused, then looked sharply at Haihane. "You'll be telling us both about what happens when you go to this dojo, right?"

"Planning to go on Thursday," Haihane replied, nodding her head quickly. "Have to heal before I can go, after all."

"Fine, I'll give you my permission then."

Haihane brightened at that, while Benitsubasa looked shocked. But Karasuba simply shrugged. "He's not another Sekirei so he's not really an enemy in terms of the game, and so long as he doesn't break the rules of the plan in a big way, I'm willing to let it slide. Besides," she said over her shoulder as she turned to leave, her smile condescending. "The two of you are so weak you need all the help you can get anyway."

Benitsubasa growled, but kept her response to herself. It was true, after all. Karasuba could beat the both of them easily with one hand tied behind her back, so long as she had a sword in her hands. And even when she didn't, she was still damn strong.

Haihane looked at her, poking her in the shoulder with one of her claws. "Want to come?"

"No I don't! I don't want to have anything to do with those **freaks** again!" Benitsubasa shouted angrily, smacking her hand away and stalking off muttering. "I'm going to go see Natsuo-sama. I suddenly feel the need to be pampered."

"Just because you've got a flat chest doesn't mean he'll go for you, you know." Haihane called out to a resounding shriek from her squad mate and a thrown weight from one of the stacks by the door. Haihane dodged them, still chuckling.

About two weeks ago, the Disciplinary Squad had been introduced to and begun to react to their Ashikabi. His name was Natsuo, and he had looks and style that could make you think he was a male model or a playboy. He was suave, seductive, intelligent, and had full access to MBI funds. Benitsubasa had reacted to him quickly, and a few days after he winged her, Haihane had reacted too. As far as she knew Karasuba hadn't reacted, but had still been winged by the man.

However there was one problem: their Ashikabi was gay. Not even bisexual, just plain gay, with a capital G! Haihane was fine with that. She really wasn't interested in all that mushy stuff; so long as she could use her norito that was all she cared about. She was interested in fighting, anime, and Disney stuff pretty much in that order. Even the orders from on high only mattered so much has they let her fight and pay for her other interests.

After her friend had left, Haihane moved around experimentally, wincing slightly as her ribs and thighs flared up in pain. Still, they were getting there, and she would be well enough by Thursday.

Wednesday did not go any more quietly for Karasuba. Though her two squad mates were no longer arguing, and she had indeed found a few Sensor specialists who told her about Ranma and his apparently knowing 01, she wasn't allowed to go and try to find him just yet, despite her best efforts, which had ended with her here in front of Takami's desk.

Half of the rules about how Karasuba and her Disciplinary Squad could act were intended to keep Karasuba away from 01, and the head geneticist, Takami, made no bones about it. "Keep the fuck away from the data anomaly until we figure out how he's so strong and his connection to 01! Minaka might be willing to endanger all of our lives by trying to bait the tiger. I'm not, and I will shut your sorry bitch ass down the instant I see you in the North without prior authorization, understood?"

Karasuba had to admit the human woman had some courage to her. If Takami had been anyone else, Karasuba would've cut them down before they finished the first sentence and made their deaths as painful as possible. _That, and the fact that Takami's other hand is underneath the table, probably on the button that will shut me down thanks to those little implants we've all got in our heads,_ Karasuba thought to herself, chuckling. _Humans and their toys. They are such devious little creatures._

"Fine, I'll wait until he breaks the rules and I can go after him for that while he's away from Izumo House. All right?"

"Fine by me. Honestly I would've preferred this guy never even showed up, so if he does break the rules I'll be fine with you hunting him down as soon as possible. But until he does his connection to 01 worries the hell out me."

Karasuba chuckled. "What worries you **excites** me."

"Just as long as you follow orders you can get excited as much as you want," said Takami firmly, pointing to the door with her free hand. "Now get out. I've got work to do."

Before Karasuba could turn away, however, a call came in, and she stopped, looking at the speaker phone on the desk. "Ma'am, we've got in a situation down herEEE!" A loud bang was heard on the other line, and Karasuba's habitually foxlike eyes widened.

Takami quickly turned on her TV, which was connected to the tower's security cameras, to show the main lobby. There a young man wearing an old-fashioned blue gi and wielding a wooden sword was tossing several of the security guards around like they were untrained children.

"Forsooth, I will speak to whoever is in charge here!" he shouted, audible via the various microphones hidden everywhere in the building as part of its security. "I wish for the beauteous Yuki-onna's hand be given to me, for am I not more worthy of her than the foul peasant Saotome!? You will not gainsay me in person as you did on the phone! For I am Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Nerima!" the young man shouted as thunder rolled in the background.

"What…the…hell?!" Takami murmured. Both women turned to look outside, seeing it was a bright sunny day, then looked at one another, sharing a slight nod to indicate they had indeed seen the flash of lightning. "Special effects?"

"There seem to be a few other people down there. They caused that, somehow," Karasuba murmured, her eyes flicking over the image. "I think…" She paused, dredging up some memories from that one time she'd allowed Haihane to drag her into a movie. It had been bloody enough to interest Karasuba, and she actually had a bit of fun. From the memory the name came to her slowly. "Ninja, I think they're called?"

"There are no…" Takami paused, then groaned leaning back. "This is all Minaka's fault," she said muttering under her breath. "He opens the gates to this so-called game of the gods as he calls it, and it's like a freaking lightning rod attracting all of the craziness in the world! Why couldn't it have just stayed under the rocks where it was buried!"

"Where would the fun in that be?" asked Karasuba, turning away and heading towards the door.

"He's human, remember," the head geneticist said as she looked up. "Try not to kill him or damage the building too much."

"I make no promises," Karasuba replied with a wave, the door sliding shut behind her.

Moments later, she was out walking from the elevator out into the lobby, watching with interest as the body of one of their security guards flew past her face to crash into the opposing wall. "Not bad form," she said, moving towards the swordsman, her own sword still at her side.

Kuno turned to her, looking her up and down. "Verily, thou art as beautiful as a passing rose, though I declare that your style of beauty is not to my liking. Thou art too boyish for my tastes, so I am afraid I would not date with thee."

"Such a pity," Karasuba drawled, pulling her sword out now. "Because I think I want to date with you. So let's get it on!" With that she charged forward, her sword coming out of its sheath with such speed that no human should have been able to even see it coming.

To his credit, while he wasn't the strongest or the fastest individual, Kuno did have good sword-fighting instincts. The moment the woman across from him crouched slightly his bokken was raised. So he was actually able to intercept her attack. His wooden sword was also not a typical bokken. It was infused with some of Kuno's ki, which he had a surprising amount of. Most of it was tied into his ability to heal from practically anything given time, but what little remained was unconsciously sent into his sword to toughen it up.

His sword was thus not sliced through but it was shattered by her attack, which continued on into his chest, hurling Kuno out the doorway and away, slamming him into a building across the square that was at the front of MBI tower. The actual cutting power behind the attack was mostly absorbed by his sword however.

Whistling in amused wonder Karasuba walked forward over the wreckage of the doorway towards him across the street. "You're still alive! That's actually quite impressive, even if I was holding back most of my strength."

"I…fight…on!" Kuno shouted as he pushed his way out of the rubble, holding up another bokken, though where he had gotten it Karasuba couldn't say.

Karasuba blinked in shock as he kicked his way out of the rubble, his wound across his chest visible but not nearly as deep as she had thought. _Did I hold back too much?_

She watched as he moved towards her, cocking her head to one side thoughtfully. _He can take a hit, let's see if he has any offense to speak of. This could be fun,_ she thought, her mind much like that of a cat toying with a mouse who had just acted a little cheeky in the cat's presence.

"Verily, thou art strong, powerful enough to even put the great fierce tigress that is Akane Tendo to shame. Yet still I have business inside yonder building to deal with, and thou art still not my type, being of far too boyish manner and body. Verily, I will have to defeat thee to be on my way!"

Karasuba howled, her eyes going wide as she threw her head back in laughter. "Bring it on, you Shakespeare wannabe!" she shouted between guffaws. "You? **You?** You, beat me?! That is bad comedy!"

She waited until the boy attacked, a long range air slash which she easily blocked, then moved to intercept his blade with her own, sighing theatrically. "So weak, and you think you have business with MBI! Only the weakest of my so-called sisters couldn't put up a better fight than this. Your durability is a little surprising, but it just means I need to put a little bit more into it…"

With that Karasuba's eyes went from amused to dangerous in a brief second. The next moment Kuno was on his back feet from a negligent flick of her wrist, and her sword was coming around in another wind shearing attack.

Again Kuno surprised Karasuba by getting his blade between the two strikes, though she knew she hadn't held back as much that time. She was still holding back, of course, but the difference was something like reducing the amount she held back from 95% to 90%.

However Karasuba's blow shattered his bokken once more and carried on, slicing deeply into the human's chest and hurling him away unconscious from the pain, possibly dead. She had certainly felt some bones being sliced through by her sword there, though she couldn't tell if she had done anything more.

She marched forward to finish the fool off, and suddenly there were ninja everywhere. It was literally that sudden. Even Karasuba's senses hadn't spotted them all. Dozens of short, black clad individuals popped up from the shadows, a nearby sewer drain, and from over the rooftops. All of them immediately began hurling tiny daggers or throwing stars at her then several of them closed in quickly with short swords. At the same time two of their number quickly moved to Kuno, grabbing him up and hauling him away, while two others tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood.

"Now this has gotten a lot more interesting!" Karasuba shouted, cutting down two of the ninja quickly then twirling in place, her blade disappearing even to the ninja's senses as she batted aside or sliced through the weapons hurled at her. A second later she closed swiftly with the ninjas charging at her, cutting them down two at a time even as they leaped away, trying to keep the range open.

Wind attacks slashed out from the Black Sekirei, cutting three luckless ninja standing on the rooftops above the battle in twain, their blood splattering everywhere. Others she cut into actually disappeared into the shadows, their bodies splitting up as if they were images rather than people, but she quickly learned the trick to telling which was which.

The last ninja quickly fell, his head decapitated, only for the rest of his body to roll forward before he hurled himself shoulder-first into a sewer drain.

Karasuba blinked, looking at the head which was now a melon ball and shook her head, laughing aloud. "That was hilarious! You know I'm starting to get why Minaka is holding this game in the first place!" _All this chaos it's bringing in, I might actually have some fun with this other than waiting for Musubi to try to challenge me or goading 01 into doing the same._

Minaka had watched all this with amusement from his office up high and thought much the same thing. The chaos this game was causing was hilarious to him, so long, that is, as he remained in the driver's seat. The ninja were a bit of a shock, and he wondered where they'd come from.

 _What is the importance of this Kuno family?_ He knew they had rejected his land grab of the district, and the government hadn't helped him at all in that, so was the family tied to the district, and if so, why was Nerima itself important? _Something to sic my spies in the government on, I suppose._

For her part back in her office Takami was simply banging her head on her desk, a rhythmic thump as she muttered curses under her breath. "Ninja. People cursed to change into pandas or change genders, sword wielding morons, and now ninja. What the hell is going on with my life!?"

 **OOOOOOO**

Thursday morning started much the same as the previous days in the Tendo household with Ranma and Akitsu helping Nabiki wake up after sparring with Genma. Akane, despite her desire to better herself as a martial artist, wasn't willing to change her morning routine enough to take part and would always go running instead. This left Ranma and Akitsu just enough time to finish up with Genma, give Nabiki her coffee and take a bath, separately despite Akitsu's continual efforts to wear down Ranma on that point.

In that combat he had two willing helpers: Kasumi, who thought it was most improper given they were not married and didn't want to think of someone doing anything in her bathroom, and Soun, who looked at Akitsu as a major threat to the agreement between the Tendo and Saotome families. He always tried to get between the two of them if he could, though he rarely had any energy to do so given the ongoing retraining Genma was putting him through. Soun would train with Genma practically from the moment the kids left for school to when they returned, and then for several hours before dinner.

Leaving Akitsu behind once more, Nabiki and Ranma went to school together with Akane. "So, are you ready for this afternoon's math test, Ranma?" Akane asked, somewhat teasingly. She didn't like how much better Ranma was in terms of martial arts, and sometimes took solace in the fact she was better academically than him. Added to this was the fact their personalities continued to clash, causing an argument at least twice a day. The normal reasons for these were his curse and Akitsu. She still considered Akitsu a witch at times, and thought Ranma a pervert for having her around.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I think I'm all right, but I'd like to get in some more practice before the test," Ranma replied before stopping suddenly and then hopping forward high into the air to put two houses between himself and an old woman who was splashing the step before her front door.

The two girls watched as the woman, instead of splashing the ground, flung the water from her ladle high into the air to try and catch Ranma. Thanks to Ranma's leap, however, this water assault missed.

"Ranma, did you do something to irritate her?" Nabiki asked, catching up to her friend quickly, as did Akane, staring back over her shoulder.

"No idea, but I've gotten into the habit of being leery of people with water," Ranma said, smirking over his shoulder at the old woman who had stopped what she was doing to glare at him.

Thus Ranma completely missed a group of young elementary school kids running by the fence, one of whom was throwing a water balloon to another. The balloon missed its intended target, going high and splashing Ranma right in the chest, triggering his change. As Ranma looked down at herself, the old woman cackled once before going inside.

"Hahaha! The mighty martial artist done in by a kid with a water balloon. Oh, that's priceless!" Akane laughed, shaking her head. "Listen, I'm going to head on and deal with the pervert brigade. I'll see you two later."

"Grrr…" Ranma growled. "That girl really does have it out for me, doesn't she?"

"Well, this time you have to admit it is kinda funny, Ranma-chan," Nabiki replied, winking up at the redhead.

In turn Ranma growled again, leaping down to walk beside her. "Remind me to smack you two with a water balloon, see just how that feels, let alone the whole sex change thing."

"Don't worry about it. You know Tofu's always got some warm water to spare. And as for your test, I'll help and quiz you on it while we walk and at lunch if you want. Think of it as a partial down payment on your share of the cash from the pictures I sold of you and Uzume."

"Really, you already sold them all? I thought you had made a few hundred of them? How'd they do?" Ranma asked interestedly.

"Very well. My factors and I actually didn't sell them at a set price, instead we had groups of students bid on each five picture batch. After giving my factors their cuts and setting aside Uzume's portion from the sales of her photos we still came away with quite a lot. About 17 large, all told."

"Wow! Really?" Ranma was astounded. He knew Uzume was pretty as hell, and his female form was no slouch either, but that much after only a few days?

"Oh yes. Uzume was tremendously popular. I honestly think we could have gotten away with selling some of her pics for an even higher price than they normally went for. And your female form was a major hit too, especially the action poses." Nabiki frowned a little. "I should probably warn you, though, that Kuno bought several sets of each of you, outbidding everyone on them from a few of my factors."

"Ugh, that's just what I need, to have him coming after me in this bod as he does Akitsu already. Not cool Nabs. Why didn't you tell your factors not to sell to that whack job?"

Nabiki reached over and flicked Ranma's ear with one finger, smirking as she twitched away. "Don't call me Nabs, Saotome. And if I had done that it would have cost us at least half of the profits. We'll just be have to be careful he doesn't ever see your female form in person."

"Easier said than done, Nabiki," Ranma groused.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully until lunchtime. Ranma and Nabiki were sitting under what was rapidly beginning to be known as their tree, with Nabiki helping Ranma by quizzing him between bites of their respective meals. The two of them sitting like this had become a common sight, though there were many in the crowd of students all around them still looking their way askance at seeing the Wild Boy, as Ranma was known, and the Ice Queen sitting together as friends like this.

Akane thoughts on the sight was much more negative. She didn't like seeing the boy who continually showed her up in martial arts becoming so close to her sister. He was a boy after all, and all boys were perverts. Nabiki might be smart, but she wasn't a martial artist, so who knew what Ranma could do to her?

Their meal-cum-study session was interrupted by an unwelcome voice, though it sounded slightly more breathy than usual. "Hold, Foul Sorcerer Saotome, for whilst I have found thee at last, I have not come before you to do battle this day. Nay, I seek information from the silver-tongued crass commercialist beside you."

The two of them looked up, rolling their eyes at Kuno's speech, only to stare in shock along with much of the rest of the student body. Kuno stood there in the normal school uniform, though it was hard to tell given how many bandages were wrapped around his torso. He was limping badly, leaning on a real katana's hilt for aid as he moved toward them.

"Kuno, what the hell did you run into?" Ranma asked, astonished. Even after so short a time knowing the pyscho-swordsman he knew Kuno's ability to bounce back from injury was impressive, to say the least. Seeing him injured like this was a surprise.

"Verily, while your astonishment is warranted, it is of no consequence to you Saotome. Know only that I didst run into an obstacle in pursuing information on the glorious Yuki-onna who you have been charged with caring for with the intent of taking that task upon my more worthy shoulders."

The two sitting students looked at one another, then Ranma supplied, "Um, you went to MBI and got beaten by someone there?" Ranma tried, wondering if Kuno had a speech impediment to go with his obvious insanity though what Ranma had understood from the swordsman he hadn't liked.

"Indeed. A single swordswoman of…some appeal, physically, though not to my tastes, with an even fiercer disposition than the mighty tigress Akane Tendo, but with far less honor and a bloodlust to match any ogre of old," Tatewaki declaimed grandly. "Twas a sorely fought contest." With that said he turned his attention back to more important matters. Even Kuno had limits, and the beating that Karasuba had delivered to him the day before was one that was going to stick with him for a while. He had no desire to share the full tale with anyone. "I wish to know, Nabiki Tendo, of the magnificent specimens of womanhood whose pictures you were selling yesterday."

Nabiki looked at Ranma, indicating he should be the one to answer. After a moment he nodded back to her and gave the upperclassmen the story the two of them had thought up that morning. "Well, the redhead's my sister, and she's a friend to Uzume. I have no idea why, but Uzume needs the money, hence why she agreed to have Nabiki take pictures of her. Ranko volunteered to join in."

"Hmm… Thou doth speak it plain. I do see a passing resemblance betwixt the two of you," Kuno mused, leaning down with a pained grunt to stare into Ranma's face, making the pigtailed martial artist recoil slightly. "Yet it seemeth to me that thy sister gained the lion's share of the beauty between the two of you."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, Kuno," Ranma drawled, causing Nabiki to break into a fit of giggles she covered unconvincingly with a series of coughs. "Now, was there anything else?"

"Yes, of course there is, you peasant! I wish you to introduce me to your sister and the beauteous Uzume," Kuno said, straightening up once more with another grunt of pain. Ranma could even see some dark droplets of blood coming through the bandages covering his upper body. "Such beauties as they are, surely they wouldst prove worthy to date such as myself!"

"Yeah, no. You hit on me, er, my sister, and I'll kill you," Ranma said, shaking his head and trying to sound angry and protective despite his little gaffe. It worked against Kuno, anyway, and he went on hurriedly. "Come on, Kuno. I hardly know you, man, outside of the fact you're too damn quick to attack, and you don't care much about bystanders."

At that Kuno stiffened, then winced, and Ranma frowned again, noticing how badly hurt he must've been to be in that much pain. But he went on regardless. "So why the hell would I introduce you to my sister? What would you do if someone wanted to meet a sibling of yours?"

"Prepare an obituary page for him because if the fool angered my dearest sister she would probably poison him or feed him to Mr. Turtle," Kuno retorted, sounding rather deadpan despite having gotten the words out between gasps of pain.

As Ranma floundered at that Nabiki stepped in quickly, changing the angle of their defense slightly. She had talked to Uzume extensively yesterday, mostly about how to parlay the girl's skill with costumes into money even though she didn't have any real ID or schooling, and she knew that for some reason Uzume was rather desperate for money. "As for Uzume, she's already in a relationship, Kuno. And we couldn't give out her address without her permission anyway so we'll have to get back to you on her, Kuno-baby."

As Kuno nodded, though most of that might have been because of his being in pain, Nabiki went on quickly, shaking her head sadly. "Besides which I thought you were interested in my sister and Akitsu, Kuno. Are you going to say you're going to throw my baby sister over for someone you just saw in a few pictures? That's low, Kuno, very low."

This seemed to do the trick, and Kuno turned, slowly, his normal somewhat controlled if not graceful movements sharply curtailed by his injuries. "Nay, Nabiki Tendo, I will never forsake thy sister, for she is verily one of the prettiest of the flowers of womanhood." He moved towards where Akane had been sitting nearby watching all of this, his arms spread wide.

Akane paled but was saved by the bell signaling the end of the lunch period. As the others students all turned to enter the building several small men dressed in ninja garb appeared out of nowhere, grabbing at Kuno for a moment, swiftly wrapping his upper body in a new set of bandages.

Seeing them Nabiki hummed thoughtfully as she stood up, accidentally flashing Ranma her legs up to mid thigh as she did so. _So he really does have ninja at his beck and call, and more than one too. I thought that was just a rumor. Interesting. "_ Well good luck on your test, Ranma. Sorry our studying was… What's wrong with you?"

Ranma had turned away, getting up hurriedly, his face red. "Legs, er, I mean, I'm fine Nabs. I'll see you after school. Will you be free to head over to Izumo House today, or should we wait to give Uzume her share of the cash tomorrow?"

Putting Ranma's red face down as a case of nerves or something similar, Nabiki shook her head. "I'm busy after school. I'm seeing a banker this afternoon. Do you want to come with me? You can open up your own account that way and keep it out of Genma's hands."

Ranma frowned, thinking hard, as the two of them walked to the main building. "Um, no, I don't think so. You can take half of my share and—what's the phrase?—play the stocks or something with it? Make it work for us, anyway. I'll take the rest and hide it at Izumo House tomorrow. That way we'll have some cash to work with if need be."

Nabiki turned, smiling brightly and leaning over to give Ranma a brief kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for trusting me like that, Ranma," she said, shaking her head. "I think you're probably the only one who would trust me like that outside of Kasumi."

"Meh, I might've just met ya a few weeks ago but I know you're smart. You could've sold my secret to Kuno or tried to use me rather than work with me to make money, so… Yeah, I trust you," Ranma said, flushing slightly. Then he smirked. "Well, I'll trust ya after you have your coffee in the morning, before that I don't think I'd trust you to walk in a straight line."

Nabiki smacked him lightly on the chest for that, flushing at the gentle teasing note in his voice. _Okay, its official. Crap, I really am interested in him. I, I need to sit down with Akitsu at some point, talk this over with her._

 **OOOOOOO**

Later that day Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki walked home together. Akane was rather angry at the moment at Ranma, who she felt had sicced Kuno on her that afternoon. Not that Ranma noticed this. "You want to continue your balance training, Nabs?"

Nabiki kicked the fence lightly. "Don't call me Nabs, Ranma-chan."

"Then don't call me Ranma-chan," Ranma replied, smirking at her. Both of them were now wearing smirks, and Ranma went on still locking eyes with Nabiki. "You didn't answer my question."

 _A chance to feel those hands and that bod against mine? Yes, please!_ "Sure Ranma, why not?" Nabiki said, feigning only slight interest despite the suddenly rapid thumping of her heart.

Ranma leaped down, picking up Nabiki easily and leaping back up with her in his arms to land lightly on the fence. Akane watched this, glowering as Ranma's hands rested on Nabiki's waist for a moment before he moved back.

Almost immediately Nabiki began to move slowly forward, showing a decent amount of balance for someone who had only done this twice. If someone had asked Akane she would not have been able to tell them which made her angrier, the sight of Ranma following her sister so closely with obviously perverted thoughts, or the sight of her sister, who had never shown much interest in anything physical, showing such aptitude.

Still, she controlled it for now, saying, "Hmmf, I bet I can do that too!" With that Akane leaped up onto the fence. Her legs were more than strong enough to get her up there, that was never in doubt. Her balance, however, left much to be desired, and she soon leaped off rather than falling off. Despite that she kept trying, getting angrier as the walk went on.

By the time they reached the Tendo dojo Ranma could practically see steam coming out of Akane's ears, and Nabiki had decided to stop practicing, walking on the ground now. This served to calm Akane down somewhat, but not by much. When they turned down the lane to the front door of the dojo Akane stopped, growling angrily. In front of the door was a young woman with gray hair wearing an off the shoulder black kimono and bandages wrapped around her body. On her hands she wore massive claw gauntlets. She was currently poking the ground with them, then looking up at the door and then back down for some reason. Despite her absurd clothes, however, it was obvious to Akane that she was stacked, and Akane could also tell she was probably another one of the Sekirei witches.

"Who the hell is that!?" She rounded on Ranma, who was moving past her towards the girl. "Another one of those freakish Sekirei? Have you been inviting them into our home, Ranma?!"

"Nope. Been inviting them to show up to the dojo for training, though," Ranma replied, smiling in welcome as Haihane looked up at him. "Yo, ya here for some sparring?"

From behind Ranma, Nabiki looked around his shoulder, a curious expression on her face. _She isn't as stacked as Akitsu was,_ _but she is cute in a goth sort of way. Yep, beauty does seem to be a Sekirei trait._

"Mm," Haihane said, standing up and smiling at Ranma. "You said I could, so…"

"Cool, lets head inside. Though ya might not be able to spar with me right away. It depends on if my old man and Akitsu are already using the dojo. Don't think it'd be a good idea to have two spars going on at the same time."

They found Genma and Akitsu outside the dojo, with Genma pressing Akitsu back hard. She was trying to bring her ice powers into play, but Genma was moving too quickly for her to get a bead on, and her concentration kept faltering whenever she had to block his blows.

This proved to be a feint. As the others watched several ice spears formed in the air above the two combatants, then fell swiftly, boxing Genma in. But to the surprise of three of the four watchers Genma was able to escape the trap, shattering one spear and bouncing between two more to escape into the sky.

This should have let Akitsu keep the range open, and she began to form more ice spears and other attacks until she spotted Ranma. Then she swiftly moved to his side, a wall appearing behind her, blocking Genma from attacking her once more. The large man smashed bodily into it and bounced off. Akitsu's eyes narrowed in her equivalent of a glare at Haihane before she moved to stand beside and slightly behind Ranma. "Master."

"What've I told you about that, Akitsu-chan?" Ranma quipped, sending one of his lopsided smirks at her, which Akitsu answered with a slight uptick of her own mouth. Before Ranma could stare too much at those lips he turned away, addressing his father as Akane headed up to her room to change into her gi. "Hey, old man, this is Haihane, the gal I told ya about. She's here ta spar with us?"

Genma cocked his head to one side, looking at their young woman before him thoughtfully. "What's with all the wrappings?"

The girl looked away, flushing slightly as two of her claws clanked together as if they were fingers. "I…hurt myself sometimes; forget that I'm wearing these. I started to get into the habit of wearing bandages because of that during training, and it sort of evolved into my own kind of fashion sense."

Genma grunted, looking over at Ranma. "Where would you rate her skill?"

"Better than most fourth Dan black belts, at least in speed and strength. Not so much more style-wise though, and she lacks experience," Ranma replied promptly.

"We'll see if we can help with that, and if you have a learning curve to match your specialty," Genma said, gesturing to the girl to follow him into the dojo where he had left the gasping, brutalized body of his friend a few moments ago.

Genma looked Soun's way for a moment before shaking his head and moving to pick the other man up, leaning him against the wall. With that done he moved into the center of the room, gesturing Ranma and Haihane to join him. Akitsu quickly followed, taking up position behind Ranma, glaring at Haihane. Surprisingly they were quickly joined by Akane, who glared at them all before taking up position along one wall to watch.

Glancing at Akane, Genma hid a smile before turning back to the others. _The girl might not have the skill or self-control, but at least she's got a competitive attitude. She might have become something if not for that damn temper of hers and the fact that Soun never trained her._ "I want to watch you spar, five minutes, no ki or special attacks."

Ranma nodded and looked at Haihane, cocking a hand towards her invitingly. Haihane needed no second urging, and with a wild grin on her face she charged forward, her claws slashing this way and that, in the same sort of attack she had tried the first time they fought, except slightly more controlled. Despite that Ranma dodged, blocked ,or redirected her attacks easily because she was still being a little too one-dimensional.

But that ended quickly. Between one step forward and the next she leaped to the side, then lashed out with a roundhouse kick which caused Ranma to duck, following it up quickly with a series of claw and leg kick combos, moving around Ranma now, circling and attempting to force him to defend himself from multiple angles.

Ranma laughed, nodding his head. "While your style hasn't changed, you're thinking now. Good!" With that he jumped over another kick, spring-boarding off her leg which was outstretched for just a brief second too long. He smacked her claws to either side, his own hands quickly moving back to her head, using it as a springboard to leap higher into the air. Once in the air Ranma was able to deal with Haihane's attacks easily, and she never regained the initiative.

"That's enough!" Genma said, sitting on the floor of the dojo in a thinking pose as he looked between the two of them. "That was quite good, far more of an actual style than I expected, too. We can work with that. What you need right now is more style and experience, as the boy said. Those kicks were sloppy, uncoordinated, and far too **slow.** We'll need to work on that first. Once your legwork is up to speed, we'll start moving into more of a balanced style, and then we'll start working on strengthening both your legs and arms further as we build your experience. Only experience can diminish your tells and let you really take your own style beyond the barely acceptable."

Ranma rolled his eyes lightly, but he didn't interrupt his old man. _Oyaji might be a bore and an ass some of the time, but when it came to the Art at least he knows his stuff._

"Until then, let's start you sparring with Akane here. She has many of the same problems as you do, but she is actually physically stronger while you have an advantage in speed. It should be a good match." Genma looked over at Akane challengingly, and as he knew she would the girl rose up to the challenge.

For the next hour or so Ranma and Akitsu worked on teaching Akitsu some hand to hand. Since her main power was a long and mid-range type, Ranma taught her some Aikido and would teach her some Pencak Silat along with the Saotome Aerial Style, which would allow her to reopen the range via throws and leaps.

The spar between Haihane and Akane did grab his attention at times. Akane was a bull, charging forward, her attacks powerful, short, sharp, and controlled for the most part, but with little thought or style behind them. Haihane, without her claw hands, seemed to be rather hesitant, awkward for the first few spars, and though she had an edge on speed she didn't use it well, matching Akane charge for charge. But she learned as quickly as Genma and Ranma had hoped a fist type would, never making the same mistake twice, and by the end of the day was able to use a hold to flip Akane to the ground, ending the match by dropping a kick on the other girl's chest.

About two hours after they began Nabiki came in, dressed in short short-shorts and a tank top, holding a large folder. Ranma caught sight of her out of the corner of her eye, and turned his head around to track her, flushing hotly as her legs grabbed his attention for a moment. She noticed this, but only allowed a faint smile on her face as she approached him. "Ranma, here's the thing I wanted you to deliver to Uzume."

Her eyes flicked over to Genma, who she had a low opinion of after talking to Miya and to Ranma about his past antics. Ranma realized this and nodded his head slightly, agreeing with her being cagey about this in front of his father. "Would you mind dropping it off for me today?" Nabiki continued.

"Yeah, sure. Akitsu and I were pretty much done for the day anyway," Ranma said, and Akitsu quickly halted her progress though the last kata Ranma had taught her, moving to stand beside Ranma.

"Thanks, Ranma-chan. And if you could, see if she has a cell phone number I could reach her at, okay?" Nabiki said, then turned away. She looked over her shoulder to watch as Ranma's eyes tracked to her rear for just a brief moment before flicking away and smiled to herself. _So he is actually attracted to me. Good, but I do need to sit down with Akitsu this weekend and hammer this thing out._

Seeing that Ranma was leaving Haihane quickly decided to leave too. She had enjoyed sparring with Akane for a bit, but the other girl's smug attitude when she won grated on Haihane's nerves. She made her farewells and hopped away over the rooftops towards MBI tower, before sheepishly coming back to grab her gauntlets from an amused Kasumi, thanking her before once more turning away.

When the grey-haired girl left, Akane smirked smugly and turned in Genma's direction, only to find that he had woken up her father with a splash of water, and the two were facing one another in the middle of the dojo. Scowling angrily, she left in a huff.

 **OOOOOOO**

Ranma and Akitsu quickly made their way through Tokyo as Ranma still called the city, refusing point blank to call it by its new name of Shin-Teito. They arrived at Izumo House to find Kocho and Musubi sitting on the porch as Kocho showed Musubi some pictures in a book, though what they were neither of the new arrivals knew. "Hey gals," Ranma said as he jumped down from the outer wall. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, Ranma-san," Kocho said, smiling over at her savior. While she wasn't reacting to him, she liked Ranma well enough, and if she had wanted to be involved in the Sekirei Plan at all she might well have winged herself on him, even knowing Akitsu would probably kill her. As it was, however, she was more than happy to be not-very-close friends with him. "I'm just teaching Musubi about different actual fashions, street signs, and that kind of thing. Asama-sama roped me into helping teach her common sense."

"Gotcha," Ranma nodded, looking into the doorway as Miya came out of the inn. "Hey Miya-nee, is Uzume here? I got some stuff from Nabiki to give her before we can spar."

Musubi stuck her head up at that reminding Ranma for all the world like a dog that had just heard she might be taken out for walkies. "Spar?"

"Maybe later, Musubi-chan," Miya said before turning back to Ranma. "She's up in her room, actually."

Miya led the way inside despite Ranma and Akitsu both knowing where Uzume's room was and entered with them after Uzume told them she was decent. Thankfully for the brunette Sekirei she actually was, somewhat, wearing much the same kind of outfit Nabiki had been wearing earlier, with a pink and blue short sleeved shirt stretched near to breaking point over her chest. "What's up, guys?"

Ranma tossed the packet to Uzume underhand, and she caught it, opening it quickly. "That's your share of the take from the photo sales, Uzume. Nabiki said that she and her agents cleaned up, though I've no idea how much there is there."

Pouring the package out, Uzume counted through it quickly, her eyes widening along with her smile until it was a full on grin as she leaped up, grabbing Ranma in a hug that planted his face in her chest as she danced around the room. "Bro, this is, oh this is awesome! You seriously don't know what this means to me!"

Gasping, Ranma's hands flailed to either side as he tried to think up how to get out of her hug without touching anything he shouldn't.

Luckily Miya came to his rescue, bonking Uzume on the head with her ladle. "That is most inappropriate, Uzume-san, regardless of how happy you are." To her side Akitsu also was rubbing her head, a sign that she had been about to interfere too.

"Oh fine, ruin my fun, why don't ya?" Uzume quipped, holding Ranma out at arm's length and smirking as the boy gasped in air, his face suffused with a magnificent blush. "Bro, seriously, you've no idea what this means to me. If Nabiki wants to sell any more pictures of me at any point, tell her to call me, because this cash, what it could mean is just…"

Ranma nodded, not questioning why Uzume wanted the money, feeling that wasn't any of his business. "Actually Nabs wanted me to ask you for your phone number so she can get in touch with you. She's apparently following up on some of the ideas she told you about for your costumes and such."

"Awesome!" Uzume cheered, hopping in place as she thrust her hands in the air. Then she sobered somewhat and turned to the window, grabbing up the cash again. Pausing, she turned to Ranma, then reached down to write her number on a pad by her bed, holding it out to him. "That's my number, but I have to go now. See ya later, bro, Icy-Chan, Miya-nee~!"

Miya huffed as Uzume caroled the last word as she leaped out of the window and away over the roofs. "Ranma, if that nickname spreads be prepared for your training to be heightened to a tremendous degree!" Seeing Ranma's thoughtful face she rolled her eyes and smacked him very gently upside the head with her ladle. "That isn't supposed to be a good thing!"

 **OOOOOOO**

The next day the trio's school time was astonishingly uneventful. There was no pervert brigade in the morning, and Kuno was noticeably absent, something they were all happy about. Ranma did decently on his math test, scoring an 82. So it was with a light heart that he headed back to the Tendo dojo with Akane and Nabiki.

Akane had scored better than him, a 94, so she too was in a decent mood, though it passed quickly as Ranma looked around just as they reached her family's front door. "Huh, Haihane isn't here today. I suppose that's a good thing considering it gives me more time over at Miya-nee's, but I would have hoped to see her take her training seriously."

The youngest Tendo scowled. "Well if you want to train someone, why don't you train me?! I **am** the heir of the Tendo dojo after all, and my own father seemingly can't bring himself to do it, so shouldn't that fall on you and your father's shoulders?"

For a moment Ranma noticed an odd look crossing Nabiki's face, a calculating look coupled with something else he couldn't make out, but whatever it was, it went away as Ranma replied. "Maybe it would if you had enough self-control, or you and I could actually get along well enough for you to take instruction from me. And do you really want my old man to teach you, seeing the way he's been trying to get Soun into shape?"

Akane had been puffing herself up to the first part of his statement, but she couldn't deny that she and Ranma didn't get along, and the last point made her deflate entirely. "Fine, I see your point." With that she opened the door, and the trio entered the house. Nabiki headed upstairs quickly to get changed in order to head over to Miya's. Ranma had told her about Ukyo and what was going to happen today, and she was eager to see Genma get his ass kicked. She also wanted to talk to Uzume about some more money-making schemes and organize the next photo session with her and Ranma.

The other two said good afternoon to Kasumi and then made their way through the house to the garden and the dojo.

In the garden they found Genma having been knocked into the koi poi by one of Akitsu's ice attacks, which made a series of icicle spikes on the ground in a line and elsewhere, where she had tried to bracket the larger but far more mobile Genma. The ice wielding Sekirei stood, looking rather tired, but her face noticeably brightened as she saw Ranma. She moved toward him, and Ranma smiled at her, making Akane gag before turning to head to the dojo.

Looking over at the panda Ranma held back a snicker, saying "Remember, Oyaji, Miya-nee is expecting us over today."

"I heard you the first time, boy," Genma replied with a sign, holding it up quickly before flipping it. "Soun and I will be leaving right after I get back here, though."

He looked around, making sure his friend was still in the dojo where he had left him before sparring with Akitsu. Then he pulled another sign up and began holding them up one after another, flipping them several times to show a longer message with no pause to actually write on it that Akitsu could see. "Honestly boy, I need to get Soun out of this house. Every time he sees Akane trying to train with Akitsu I need to sit on him so he can't interfere. And there's no way I can push him as hard as I need to get him back into shape here. He just won't take it as seriously as he should. Frankly it might take a year or more to get him to the point where he can even use his school's special techniques."

He shook his head, holding up another sign while Akitsu, who had moved to Ranma's side once more, twitched, her fingers making little grasping motions towards the sign. "We might have to figure out a way to teach them to you without his example to work from, boy. I'm not saying Akane won't ever be able to control herself enough to be able to learn them, but it's doubtful."

Ranma blinked, then smiled eagerly at the idea of learning new techniques, while beside him Nabiki snorted, not at all surprised her sister was having self-control issues. Ranma noticed the snort and a sort of dark look in Nabiki's eyes, but decided to set that aside for now. "Sounds good to me, Pop. You know how quickly I can learn things like that. As for Miya-nee, I'll go ahead and tell her you're coming. That'll give me time to train some more with her. She's helping me perfect my wind pressure attack."

Genma growled, throwing his ursine head to one side, visibly trying to throw off the idea that Miya had anything to teach his son that he couldn't, though deep down he knew that was not the case. He didn't like to admit it, but Ranma really was better thanks to Miya's training.

"Yeah… I really don't think ya should show up like that that, old man," Ranma quipped. "I mean, Miya-nee has seen my curse, but she hasn't seen yours yet, and if she reacts negatively…" Ranma and Genma both shuddered at that, and Ranma went on hurriedly. "Besides, this is a sort of formal thing. A meeting between two masters, right?"

The panda held up a sign. "Too right, boy!" The sign flipped. "I'll go and get changed. I'll even…" *flip* "…find a clean gi to change into, and then…" *flip* "…I'll head over there in a few hours."

"You have one?" Ranma asked blankly, then ducked as Genma hurled a sign at him. Akitsu swiftly caught it by the signpost, staring at it only to gasp as the writing disappeared. _How does he do that?! s_ he thought, staring hard at the panda as it rumbled its way inside.

"Ah, Soatome-san, please change out there!" Kasumi said with a hard tone for the normally mild-mannered woman. "I do not want to have to clean up more panda hair from the bathroom!"

Laughing, Ranma turned away as Nabiki came out to meet them, talking with Kasumi for a few moments. Ranma exchanged a few words with the woman who he thought was the real head of the Tendo household, promising to be back with Nabiki by the time it went dark, before turning away. With Nabiki once more in Ranma's arms, he and Akitsu turned and hopped up and away over the roofs.

 **OOOOOOO**

From the door to the dojo Akane watched them go, scowling as she saw how closely Ranma was clinging to her sister. For whatever reason though, Nabiki seemed to actually like the pigtailed pervert. _I can't believe it, but she does. Though I bet that's only because of how much money she's making working with him. Ugh, who could really like a freak like that, with that curse of his!_

But that actually wasn't the main thing bothering Akane. No, she was thinking about this whole Sekirei thing. She didn't like Akitsu. She didn't like her tricks or the fact she was so much faster than Akane. But Akane also didn't like the idea of this whole Sekirei Plan either. The very concept of some pervert suddenly gaining total control of a super-powered alien woman was disturbing to her.

On that same line, however, she didn't like the fact that Ranma seemed to be doing something about it without even asking her or anyone else if they wanted to join him. That, along with how Genma kept on dismissing her skill and her father's continued attempts to dodge out of training her, made Akane think that everyone was making fun of her, or simply denigrating her skills as a martial artist.

She stared over at where her father had just dragged himself out of the dojo, wincing in pain from various muscles and injuries, only having acknowledged her with a bare nod before heading off. Akane's face firmed, watching him. "Well, I can damn well do some good too!"

With that thought Akane headed up to her room, changing into a training gi before heading downstairs. She scowled as she saw the two large packs by the door where they had been left for her father's and Mr. Saotome's training trip. _And did either of them ask if I wanted to go? No! I could have helped daddy get into shape, and then he could have taught me the family techniques in return. I don't care what Ranma says, there's no way I'm so far away from using the Tendo branch of Anything Goes even if I can't use the Aerial style._

Quickly Akane reached the door and she turned, shouting out to Kasumi. "Kasumi, I'm heading out on a jog. I'll be back for dinner!" Before Kasumi could reply Akane was out the door, eager to look for some trouble.

 **OOOOOOO**

After arriving at Izumo House, Ranma trained with Miya for about two hours before he looked up as the doorbell rang, audible out in the backyard. His face split into a wide grin, and he looked over at Miya, who looked as pristine as ever despite his attempts to mark her. In contrast Ranma was sweating somewhat heavily, though he wasn't nearly as bruised as he would normally have been at this stage. "Is that…"

Nodding, Miya led the way through her inn, her lips twitching. "Indeed, I called Ukyo-san before you arrived here. You might wish to dry yourself off, at least, before meeting her, you know." She continued onward despite Ranma's growl of irritation at her gentle jibe, a smile once more twitching across her lips.

Opening the door Miya smiled at the young looking woman standing there. She was dressed in a boys' school uniform, but her chest was just large enough to show feminine curves with long flowing brown hair. On her chest she wore a bandoleer with tiny, strangely designed throwing knives, while on her back she wore a massive spatula. "Good afternoon, Kuonji-san. I believe you know the young man behind me?"

"Heh, yeah. You still have that lame pigtail, Ran-chan?" Ukyo said, her voice somewhere between friendly and awkward. She glanced at Akitsu, recognizing her as someone like Uzume and the others here, dismissing her for now while examining the other brunette standing by the doorway into the sitting room much more closely.

"Hey, don't diss the pigtail!" Ranma replied mock-indignantly, then moved forward, his hand outstretched. "It's great to see you, Ucchan, and I'm sorry about how my old man's an asshole."

Ranma than ducked as Miya swung a ladle she hadn't been holding a second before. "You of all people should know that cursing like that is not allowed in Izumo House, Ranma," she admonished, before pausing. "Even if the word you used was accurate."

Both the younger people laughed, and Ranma gestured Ukyo inside to the sitting room. "Erm, so how've you been, Ucchan?"

"A lot better since Miya-san made me realize chasing after you was stupid," Ukyo said dryly as she sat down. "No offense, Ran-chan, you look handsome and all, but I really don't want Genma as a father-in-law. Him… Him I still have a problem with."

"Er, did your old man tell you about the agreement, and do you know why he made it in the first place?" Ranma asked. "I mean, do you know if my old man even mentioned the fact that he'd already made an agreement with the Tendos before making the agreement with your father?" Ranma asked, gesturing to Nabiki.

Ukyo looked at the other brunette, and both girls nodded hello to one another. "We were told about the whole arrangement a few weeks ago, about an hour before Ranma and his father showed up on our doorstep."

"That was still a bit better than me," the chef said grimly. "I wasn't told at all until about an hour before I was due to leave with you. Genma was supposed to take me with you along with our cart, but then ran off with you and the cart, leaving me behind." Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned over poking Ranma in the forehead. "I still remember you sitting on top of it, waving at me as if it was all in good fun, y'know?"

"Yeah, I wish I could remember what line my old man gave me about that. I remember having the cart too for a bit, but I cant remember how he explained that to me. Probably just told me it was to train you or me, something like that," Ranma said morosely.

"Don't worry about it, Ran-chan," Ukyo said, leaning back. "Miya-sama has helped me through a lot of my anger about being abandoned like that, and she pointed out that given our ages there's no way I could blame you for it. But Genma is a different matter. I want to at least kick his tail a few times for what he did."

"Why did your father agree to the deal in the first place?" Nabiki asked. "I can't imagine that Genma was ever that persuasive, unless copious amounts of booze was involved."

"My dad wanted a boy to take over the school," the chef said bluntly. "He was never happy that I was born a girl, hence the way he dressed me and everything. Don't get me wrong, I like dressing up like a guy, makes things a lot easier. But I still have days where I like to dress up as a girl, another thing Miya-sama's helped with. My dad would have thrown a fit he'd ever seen me in anything but our school's gi and guy clothes. I think that was a major part of his reasoning. The other half, he just sucked at taking care of me on the road. That aspect didn't go away when we traveled together after Genma and Ranma ran away."

"That's the most sexist thing I've ever heard," Nabiki said coldly. "Though I have to say it also makes some sense given my own father's reasoning behind the agreement between Genma and him. Where's your father now?"

"He died a few years ago, about three months or so before I found Ranma's name on that high school registry which eventually led me here to Izumo House," Ukyo shrugged, showing a marked lack of regret. "I've gotten over it."

"I have to apologize again," Ranma said wincing. "But hey, look on the bright side. This way you don't have to have Genma as an in-law.

"Ouch. Maybe my sisters and I need to rethink this whole fiancé thing," Nabiki quipped, causing the others at the table save Akitsu to laugh.

The three of them talked for a time, somewhat awkwardly. While Ukyo and Ranma had been great friends when they were younger, that was ten years ago, and both of them had changed a lot over that time. It was obvious that they were still friends, but Miya, sitting nearby but only occasionally taking part, doubted that they would ever become close. Their interest lay in different directions, and they had few similar interests outside the martial arts. But while Ranma saw the Art and becoming as good as he could be in it as his life, Ukyo was nowhere near as passionate about the martial arts. She was a cook first and a martial artist second.

On the other hand, although Nabiki and Ranma were very different and had different goals in life, there was a growing closeness between the two that Miya could see. Whether the connection was one that would grow in time she couldn't say, but she rather thought it would.

 _There have been many trite phrases trotted out over the centuries about love and how people go about falling in love. But one line my husband once said I think is the closest to reality: falling in love is at times a quick process based on mutual attraction. Staying in love is based upon whether a couple will be able to grow together rather than apart. And I think these two, for all their surface differences, could well grow together like that. Like my husband and I did during our courtship and after until his death._

For once thinking about her husband did not bring with it the normal wave of pain and sorrow. Rather a sort of bittersweet regret came to Miya then as she listened in on the conversation before her. _I think you would have liked the young man Ranma has become, my love, and what he continues to do for my sisters as well._ What her thoughts on Nabiki might mean for Akitsu didn't occur to Miya. After all, harems were normal among her people.

About an hour after Ukyo's arrival, Izumo House's doorbell rang once more. Miya smiled over at Ukyo, gesturing to the backyard. "You might want to get ready, my dear, to *ahem*, serve up some comeuppance, yes?"

"Lame," Ranma sighed, shaking his head, then wincing as Miya's ladle smacked him upside his head while she moved towards the door. Behind her Ukyo laughed before racing out to the backyard as Ranma, with Akitsu trailing him, went out to prepare. This was going to be fun.

Outside the door Miya found Genma in a surprisingly clean white gi looking irritated and attempting to appear his normal brash, arrogant self. That façade faded quickly as he saw her standing there. Even without her hanya mask Miya could cow most people with her simple presence, but she said nothing. Her own chastisement of Genma would come later; this was Ukyo's time now. "Ara, Genma-san. Excellent. Please, come in. I have been looking forward to speaking to you about the training you gave Ranma while on this trip of yours."

Miya allowed her eyes to narrow even as Genma straightened up, recovering some of his poise. "However, we will be discussing your decision to bring Ranma to this Jusenkyou place in detail later. I was most displeased to discover his curse and how precisely he received it." She let her hanya mask out just slightly so that it peeked over her shoulder almost, the horns, lank black hair, and white skin barely visible.

In response Genma stepped back, letting loose an unmanly shriek, and Miya smiled. "For now, however, please, come this way. There is someone here to meet you, interested in getting to know your training styles. And I must say I'm interested in talking to you about them too."

She gestured Genma inside, then out into the backyard. There was a woman standing there leaning against a tree, but her looks didn't register so much to Genma, rather the weapon over her shoulder was the reason he stopped short. _A giant spatula. I know only one school of marital artists that use those… No, it couldn't be…_

Genma might have moved backwards, but a slight shove from behind and his son's voice saying, "Get out there, Pop, and take your medicine!" sent him stumbling out into the garden.

The brown-haired girl's eyes lit up malevolently as she took in the sight of the man, and she stalked forward towards Genma.

Genma backed away, trying to think of how to play this, but Ukyo continued to move toward him. _Try ignorance first._ "I don't know what you're talking about, girl! I don't even know you!"

"My name is Ukyo Kuonji. Genma Saotome, you cheated my father and stole my dowry, prepare to die," Ukyo said, circling around Genma, keeping his back to the inn where Miya was standing in the doorway.

It would take a far braver man than Genma was to try and get out that way, but Genma made a break for the outer wall, only for the girl to intercept him, a string of some kind of dough grabbing his leg and hauling him back to earth. He broke it quickly, but had to leap away again as the girl closed, making him unable to get back to the wall. "My name is Ukyo Kuonji. Genma Saotome, you left me behind and stole my dowry, prepare to die."

Watching from the sidelines, Ranma noted Ukyo's normal Osaka accent had been replaced by an obviously fake, foreign sounding accent. _What's up with that?_

"I'm sorry! I was weak! I had enough trouble looking out after one child, I couldn't look after two!" Genma pled, looking around for an out. While he could have fought the girl, it was entirely possible if he tried that Miya would join in, or his own traitorous son. It was evident to Genma that he had been brought here to take his lumps, but he certainly wasn't going to go down without a fight. _I'll get you for this, boy!_

"Then why did you make the agreement in the first place, you ass!" Ukyo shouted. With that she charged forward, leaping into the air and bringing her spatula down, slamming it into his head without further warning. "I will have my pound of flesh for leaving me behind!"

Groaning in pain, Genma dodged to one side, then yelped as a few flung dough bombs went off all around him, almost bracketing him for Ukyo's next charge. But he dodged under it, only getting hit in the shoulder by the base of Ukyo's battle spatula, which hurled him sideways.

Deciding to try to at least redirect Ukyo's anger Genma shouted, "It wasn't my fault! I gave the choice to the boy. He chose your okonomiyaki over you! I asked him which he liked the most between you and okonomiyaki, and he chose the food!"

Ukyo actually looked over at Ranma at that, but Ranma growled, flinging a piece of wood left over from his projects around the inn at the back of Genma's head when he turned to try and run away. "Don't give me that, old man! I was six or seven, and that was the best food I'd ever eaten, and the most, too, thanks to you always stealing my food from my plate! No way in hell did I understand what you were really asking!"

"That's right, Genma. It was your damn fault for stealing my dowry. Now stand still and take your punishment!" Ukyo shouted, closing in once more.

"Never!" Genma shouted, trying to back away only to have to dodge a series of the small knife-like spatulas from Ukyo's bandoleer.

Watching this from where she and Akitsu were sitting on either side of Ranma, Nabiki frowned even though she was amused by what was going on. "So, you have any idea how many other families your father might have made agreements with?" she asked idly.

She blinked as Ranma grabbed one of the spatulas out of the air from in front of her. To one side Uzume too was grabbing them as they came towards them piling them up next to her while she wondered where the girl had been hiding most of them. There were certainly more knives there than showed on her bandoleer.

"I don't know. I've been wracking my brain trying to think about that but I can't remember meeting anyone else my own age on the trip. There could've been a few temples he might have stolen from, and I know we both dined and dashed a lot. Other than that, I don't think so…" Ranma said, shaking his head.

"Hmm…" That was what Nabiki's research into Genma had dug up too, though Miya had not been as helpful as she had hoped in that search. Ukyo was the only one to have come around asking about Ranma and Genma, but that didn't mean there weren't others out there.

"I'd like to think that most of them are like the ones he made with my family and the Kuonji's, simple verbal agreements, and as such could be forgotten. But a lot of the old style martial arts families that have their own styles are a little…well, a little wrong in the head. Look at the way my own father's pushing you to choose me or one of my sisters and get hitched already." Nabiki had, in fact, thought about telling her father about the Kuonji agreement, thinking they might be able to get him to cancel the pact between their families, but thought better of it for a few reasons, not all of them logical.

"Heh, don't hold back Nabs. Tell me what ya really feel," Ranma said, pushing her shoulder lightly. As Nabiki tried to push Ranma's shoulder in turn without success, he went on. "Well, whatever the case, we can just wait until trouble shows up and deal with it then."

"True," Nabiki said, her brow furrowing in irritation.

"Heh, you're looking kind of worried there, Nabiki," Uzume said, having turned from the ongoing fight to watch the two interact with interest, one eyebrow rising in sudden surmise. "Any reason why you're so concerned about more girls going after bro?"

"Other than the fact they might attack my family and our house, no," Nabiki said coolly, staring at the slightly older and far chestier woman with a calm expression, not rising to her insinuation.

Before Uzume could launch another attack, Ukyo picked up a pail that had been left on the porch half full of water with cleaning solution in it and hurled it at Genma, having run out of both spatulas and dough bombs. The makeshift missile hit Genma in the face, splashing him and triggering his change.

Ukyo watched in amazement as Genma shifted from his normal body into that of a large panda, gaining about a foot in height and girth. "GRowf!"

Uzume slid down the support she had been leaning against to land on her rear, shaking her head in shock. "I… You told us about it, but damn if that transformation isn't even more surprising than yours, bro!"

Not having heard about the curses just yet from Ranma or Miya, Ukyo stumbled backwards gaping. This allowed Genma to turn away, leaping up and over the outer wall.

As he did so, Musubi arrived from the errands Miya had sent her on today. "Oya-san, I'm bacKKK!" she shouted, as the giant panda leaped up at her from the other side of the wall.

Before Musubi could do anything or the others could interfere the panda had smacked her to one side, sending her crashing down into the garden while it leaped away, running over the rooftops. Musubi hit face and chest first, holding up the bags of groceries she had been sent to buy so they were left undamaged. Genma raced on, looking for a place where he could change forms and then call Soun to meet him so they could get out of the city as fast as possible.

"Ara, are you all right, Musubi-chan?" Miya asked, moving to help the girl up, taking the basket of groceries from her.

Musubi bounced to her feet uninjured but looking rather awestruck. "I'm fine, Oya-san. But wow, what was that? That punch was strong, and he was so fast, too!"

"I've got the same damn question, girlie!" Ukyo said before turning to glare at Ranma. "Anything you want to tell me, Ran-chan?"

 **OOOOOOO**

"What do you mean she was able to pay the hospital bill? I thought that Uzume had no ID, and thus no method of making money legally without reverting to her MBI card, which she in fact does not have, having helped number 2 escape. Was this in fact in error?" said a calm, but very cold voice. This was a voice of a man who did not like dealing with setbacks and was used to getting his own way.

"No sir. That seems to have been the case." This second voice was also calm, but markedly subservient sounding. "But nonetheless she seems to have figured out a way of making enough money on smalltime jobs. She was not very forthcoming about how or what those jobs entailed, so I doubt we'll be able to find her place of work and put pressure on them." After a moment the voice went on. "If she is able to make that much money in so short a time, we might need to be more proactive in pressuring her."

"Hold her Ashikabi as hostage to her good conduct, you mean?" said the voice from the other end. "That is a bit too strong for my preference this early in the game. I will order the hospital manager to add to the amount of money she needs to pay, but to do it in such a way that it doesn't seem to be maliciously aimed at Uzume. And then when she can no longer pay the amount needed, you can come back into this. Until then, you and your Sekirei will be of better use elsewhere. I'll see you in my office first thing tomorrow morning."

With that Izumi Higa, Ashikabi of the East, hung up, turning to look at a map of the city that was slowly taking shape as the great game continued. _Some random elements might've been added of late, but the game is still going on, and so long as it does, my path to power is still out there waiting for me to grab it._

 **OOOOOOO**

After the explanation Ukyo spent several moments playing with pouring hot and cold water over Ranma's head, shaking her head in wonder. "Wow, this is just amazing, Ran-chan! Heh, I don't suppose you're looking for a job? You could make a killing as a waitress with a bod like that."

"Heh, no thanks, Ucchan. I've already got a few jobs lined up through Nabiki here," Ranma said, gesturing at Nabiki who had been talking quietly with Uzume as Ukyo got her surprise at the curses out of her system, having called home to her family to tell Kasumi that she would be coming home late. "But I've got a question for you. Why did you repeat yourself so often when you threatened my old man, and what was up with the accent?"

In the kitchen Akitsu helped Miya with dinner as Miya talked to an excited Musubi about training her further to help her react to sudden surprises. Kocho and Matsu had also joined them in the dining room for dinner as was the rule in Izumo House. Both of them were looking a little angry, glaring at one another, then turning away as Miya turned to glance their way. Ranma guessed the two of them had had another argument about Internet usage.

"Oh, that." Ukyo giggled a little, shaking her head. "Er, I was trying to imitate this scene in the _Princess Bride_. I suppose my accent and the way I had to mangle the lines kind of ruined it."

"No way, Ukyo. I got it at once. That was why I was laughing," Uzume said, to which Nabiki nodded.

"What, is the _Princess Bride_ a famous movie or something? I've never heard of it," Ranma said, and all the side conversations cut out as everyone except Musubi turned to stare at him in shock.

Reaching over, Nabiki gently touched Ranma's cheek as her head shook from side to side sadly. "Oh, you poor, poor boy. You've never seen the _Princess Bride_? We must correct this." She looked over at the small TV in one corner which didn't have a DVD player, then stood up resolutely. "Who here hasn't seen the movie yet? I know that my family has a copy."

Musubi looked confused, which Nabiki decided was the same as a reply, though amusingly enough all the other Sekirei, even **Akitsu** , had seen it already. From where she had turned to them from her place in the kitchen even Miya was looking a little nostalgic, and a little sad. "I saw it when it was out in theaters while on a date with Takehito-san. It was one of the last ones we had seen before he proposed…"

Ukyo shook her head sadly, standing up. "Sorry, I need to get back to the restaurant. If you're ever in eastern Shin-Teito, come and find me, Ran-chan. I'd like to catch up with you more."

"Sure, Ucchan. And again, I'm really sorry about what my old man did." With that Ukyo left, shown to the door by Miya.

Of the Izumo House crowd only Musubi was interested in coming with Ranma and Nabiki. She joined the two of them and Akitsu, heading back to the Tendo house. Little did they know that Musubi wouldn't be the only guest that night…

 **End Chapter**

* * *

I looked back and saw how much stuff has come out of the Kuno mansion, and I thought… hmm… so the ninja brigade came from that hmm, and Kodachi may well become a main character going forward for that reason and the fact I'd like to see if I could redeem her character without changing her too much. We'll see. I also had several other things I wanted to write up for this chapter, however I realized I was still stuffing in too many events in too short an in-story time frame. So they will occur later.

As for Takami, she struck me, just like Homura, as someone who would be unable to deal with a sufficient amount of utter chaos, hence her reaction and his avoiding Ranma (yes he actually is avoiding him/her). Don't worry, she'll start rolling with it soon, but it will take a while.

August's poll is up here on fanfic. Something many of you might know is that it has been three months since its last update and that means A Third Path to the Future is up for voting!

Why isn't it automatic you ask? I have decided that at this point I can cut down on the chapter size of ATP without losing any of the impact and world building. So from now on it will be up in the monthly poll! It is also the author's choice, which means I will be voting for it too, and Horse for the Force is not going to be part of August's poll. I need to do some research on characters and worlds, and plan the next few events, both major and personal, out for that story. Magic of the Force however is part of the poll in August.

If you want it or one of my other stories updated this coming month take part in the poll here or join up over on P at Ron. I have story ideas, several omakes and teaser chapters up there, as well as the One Piece/Ranma story Stallion of the Line, which is already in the Grand Line, putting it ahead of a lot of the stories here on fanfic LOL.


	7. Chapter 7

Sekirei has too little plot, Ranma too little romance for it to be from me.

This story was the winner of the short story poll for February. Remember that this month, given it's a short month, there was only one winner in this poll to go with _Making Waves_ , my Ranma/Fairy Tail crossover Pat R on only work, and _Magic of the Force_ , which should be up by now or within a few hours. Considering I got out a chapter of _Effect_ for the Super Bowl, I don't think anyone can complain LOL. Just think about how many words I've written in a short month, then wonder if maybe you can find it in your heart to support me over on Pat R on. If yo udo you get access to my Pat R on only content and a far larger voice in what stories I update per month. Case in point:

 _Anything Goes Game Changer_ brought in 140 votes here on fanfic, but 624 votes over on Pat R on, giving it a total of 764. The others were _Semblance of Hope_ which came in dead last here with only 52 vote, but brought in 595 votes over there, putting it at 647. Astonishingly _Stallion of the Line_ came in last overall, though it came in third here fanfic, giving Stallion 401. _Fate Touched in Middle Earth_ came first here with 229 but only won 414 overall. _Gods and Devils and Wild Horses_ came in third place, but didn't break five-hundred, raking in 472 with only 122 here on fanfic.

You should also note that my new small story poll is up. I have put two HP and two Ranma stories there, so the voting should be relatively even here and maybe over on Pat R On. The SW crossover however I have decided to make a Pat R on only poll. You can win further votes for the story of your choice in this poll or the SW poll however if you are of an artistic bent and think you can come up with a story cover for any of them.

This has been betaed by… me. Yeah… so there will be mistakes within it, I have no doubt.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Random Meetings and Heart to Hearts**

Akane was out and about walking the streets of Tokyo, or rather Shin-Teito, looking for trouble. That would not be how she described what she was doing to anyone else, but that was what she was doing. She wanted to see if these Sekirei were all that in a real fight. She'd been beating Akitsu handily after all, and she didn't think the other one, Haihane, was going to last very long either. Besides, Akane wanted to prove that she could stand up for herself, that she really was worthy of being called the strongest girl in Nerima.

The fact that she'd been beaten several times during spars against Ranma in his female form and once or twice even Akitsu were facts which did not stay in Akane's head. Being beaten never stayed in Akane's head. It wasn't simple confidence, so much as a denial of reality, the source of which was unknown at present even to her.

So far tonight she had seen one or two Sekirei racing along the rooftops as she walked through the streets, but none of them were anywhere she could get up onto the rooftops in turn. That was irritating and as she watched a few of them leap by again heading to the right of her current route she shook her head. _What's so special about racing along rooftops anyway? I'd rather stay in one place and hammer anyone who comes at me. That's what_ _ **real**_ _martial artists do, not bounce around like springs!_

This concept was based on what Akane could remember her father doing when she was very young in the few serious matches he ever had after settling down. Standing and acting like a fortress and simply hammering anyone who came within range was part and parcel of the methodology of the Ground-based school of Anything Goes.

Sighing deeply Akane paused her steps to watch the group race on ignoring the crowd of city-goers all around her and the few odd looks she got for staring up at the rooftops. After a moment she shook her head and decided to make a loop through the city before heading back home. Turning, Akane wound through a few more blocks towards a park she knew about, well away from where that group of Sekirei had been going.

As she neared however, Akane heard the sounds of someone fighting. "About time!" She said gleefully moving forward.

Entering the park Akane soon came upon what looked like a one-on-one fight between two weapon users occurring in one of the public soccer fields. One of them was using a large scimitar, reminding Akane strongly of something she'd seen in that Disney movie Aladdin. The other was wielding a massive warhammer that frankly looked a little too large for her frame.

The two of them were exchanging blows, heavy and not very coordinated to Akane's eyes, and she smiled triumphantly at the thought. _I knew that silver haired bitch couldn't be the norm for these cheating aliens!_ The thought actually served to calm her down and she moved forward on a tangent, hoping to get close enough to overhear any conversation and figure out if this was a friendly spar or a real fight before getting involved.

However doing so Akane quickly became aware that she was not alone in watching the fight. There were several other people there watching from the bushes, all of whom were guys. This was enough to get her back up, but what they were saying nearly made her see red.

"Damn, will you look at the ass on that girl with the weird sword, mmm… more cushion for the pushin' man."

"Blah, you can have it, I'm more interested in the other one. "Look at her face, you can tell she doesn't have much spirit to her. That's the kind of girl that you could treat anyway you wanted and she'd just be happy that you're the one doing it. This whole destined one stuff is the path to paradise I tell you."

Her eyes narrowing Akane moved through the bushes, showing a surprising amount of stealth to anyone who knew her, moving up behind each man in turn and knocking them out with a chop to the neck. A chop from Akane was like getting hit by a two by four swung by a sumo wrestler, and none of them even had time to grunt before they collapsed into lala-land.

She ended back where she began, dealing with the two men who were there together spying on the sparring Sekirei. Before the two men even knew she was there Akane grabbed them both by the back of their necks and slammed their heads together. "Perverts!" she roared, finally able to let loose her battle cry,.

Her shout drew some more attention, and both of the combatants turned to look at her. The scimitar wielder quickly stepped away from the hammer wielder, bringing her sword up to point at Akane, as the Hammer wielder took a step backwards, looking around her, suddenly looking both small and worried.

"Sorry," Akane said almost cheerfully now, holding up her hand quickly and kicking the two unconscious boys out of the woods. "These two were talking about perving on you big time, and that's the kind of thing I just can't stand."

"…If they were reacting to us why did you get in the way?" said the hammer wielder slowly.

"Well," Akane said equally slowly, hefting the one who had been talking about the hammer wielder up into the air by his neck like he weighed nothing at all. "Even if he was reacting to them that shouldn't mean much. As far as I know, that's just a way of saying your bodies are compatible or something right?"

Akane actually only barely remembered the talks Kasumi and Nabiki had with Akitsu on this point. The whole Ashikabi/Sekirei bond sounded way too perverted to her, so much so she'd pound any Ashikabi she met just on general principle. But Akane had understood the reacting thing to be half-physical attraction and half-indoctrination thanks to Kasumi explaining it to her.

She shook the man she was holding like a rag doll. "I mean well do you like the look of him? He looks like a gang banger or street bum!"

The hammer wielder looked at the unconscious man and slowly shook her head. "Well no not really, but well," she seemed to wilt, staring down at her feet. "I, I know I'm weak, and I know I'm not very skilled, so…I mean, if he was reacting to me, that could've been that could be my only chance, I mean who would want me and I don't really have any place to go, I've been around the city for days and I don't want to go back to MBI…"

"Gah that's enough," Akane said, tossing the man behind her like so much dead weight. "You have that giant hammer, girl! You're strong, skill and speed can come, don't put yourself down like that." if there was one thing Akane had in abundance beyond self-confidence (or self delusion), it was the belief that women were superior to men and should be confident about themselves. So she hated seeing girls put themselves down. "Now, what's your name?"

"Y, Yashima, #84," the hammer wielder said.

"Kiriko, #93." The scimitar user said, rolling her eyes at her sparring partner's timidity. "I suppose if you already know about reacting and such we can tell you our numbers."

"Well, what do you think about these guys?" Akane asked looking Kiriko.

She shook her head. "I agree with you, but I already have a guy I am reacting to. He's a policeman, and I'm trying to get through his dislike of us Sekirei to take me seriously. Yashima's situation is a good deal worse than mine."

Akane winced. "Yeah, policemen really don't like us martial artists either, I imagine Sekirei have it even worse sometimes."

"We would if not for MBI controlling the city. He doesn't like that much either though," said the scimitar wielder, wilting to almost match Yashima's depressed state.

"Ah, okay" Akane said with a nod. "Well, I suppose I should wish you luck, just a long as he doesn't turn out to be a pervert. Still… I suppose policeman are safe enough, or should be…"

"So you're a martial artist?" Kiriko asked, shaking off her doldrums and moving over to talk more naturally with Akane with Yashima following behind her. She ignored the last bit Akane had said figuring that humans, just like Sekirei, had their quirks.

For her part, Akane wondered why the two Sekirei had started fighting. Now that they had stopped it looked as if the two of them weren't particularly friendly, but also as if they didn't hate one another either. Still, she decided to bring that up later, there were more important things to talk about right now.

"That's right," she said, smacking one hand against her chest. "We're proof positive that super-powered people don't only come from space. I'm the strongest girl in Nerima, and I've yet to see a Sekirei that can match me without using weapons or dirty tricks."

Looking at the still morose Yashima, and not noticing Kiriko's dubious look, Akane sighed. She really wanted to keep looking for more trouble wanting to prove herself still against more Sekirei and maybe pound some perverts. But Yashima's sadness called out to her, and she decided to set that aside for tonight.

"Come on," she said, looping her arm with hammer wielder's and pulling her toward the park entrance. "If you don't have any place to stay you can stay with my family. We've already got a few freeloaders so what's one more? At least you don't bring a perverted attitude and curse with you."

"Curse?" Yashima looked at her quizzically, but didn't fight her grip, walking beside her for a bit.

They were nearly back to Nerima when they ran into real trouble. Mist began to appear around them so thick they could barely see the end of the street and Akane stopped, peering through the mist warily while Yashima went back to back with her, also confused and worried.

"Oh, what's this then, two for the price of one?" shouted a voice from on high, causing both Akane in Yashima to turn in that direction. On a nearby rooftop stood four Sekirei, appearing out of the mist as if summoned into being. One of them had brown hair and was wearing a black gown with white puffy sleeves and was wielding a scythe of all things, though the end of it was covered by a specially made sheathe.

It had been her who had spoken and her face was ecstatic as she stared down at Akane and Yashima, and Akane had to fight back a shiver at the look in her eyes. Something about that look bothered her a lot. "Taki, do we know anything about these two?"

Next to her was a girl that was dressed something like Musubi in a heavily modified kimono/Shinto priestess like outfit, but with her arms bare. She also had nowhere near Musubi's bust and seemed to wield a staff as her primary weapon. Beside her was Mitsuha, the blonde-twin-tailed girl Ranma had met several times by this point.

The fourth girl had vibrant gray blue-gray hair and wore a white dress which had an open slit revealing her belly button and enough of her sizable bust to make Akane grit her teeth in anger at the girl being a pervert. Or jealousy, though once more Akane would sooner die than admit that.

Taki held a cell phone in front of her, staring at its screen for a moment before shaking her head mock sadly. "Don't order me around Yomi," she said almost absentmindedly before answering the other Sekirei's question. "Yashima, the hammer wielder, is a known loser, but she's not winged yet. The other one we don't have any information on, she must be a recent release. Looks like a fist type though."

"Well in this game, any card can be useful, even weak ones. Let's take them!" said one of the two blonds. Mitsuha, flaring her whip with a crack.

With that the quartet leaped down towards them, only for Akane to move forwards with a grin on her face. She met them as they landed a punch nearly taking one of them out the fight immediately. It instead hammered into the shoulder of the staff wielder as she dodged at the last second, spinning her around and sending her backwards so hard she lost her grip on her weapon. "I might not be a Sekirei, but I'm a martial artist! I'll force you to take me seriously!"

With that Akane went on the attack, getting in close and not letting up a moment, switching from one series of punches to a series of kicks smoothly. Her speed was nothing to brag about, but she was strong enough to make her blows really hurt even Sekirei. The one called Taki intercepted some of them, wincing as one of them landed wrong on her forearm, bruising her somewhat. "Yashima, you take on the one called Yomi and the one with the whip, I'll handle these two!"

The Sekirei holding her injured shoulder was pushed away from Taki, who nearly took a kick to the side but moved with it, trying to circle around Akane and come from both directions at once. The still unnamed Sekirei scowled angrily rolling her injured shoulder and assuming a shaky boxer's stance. "Know your place human, you can't fight Sekirei, you're not nearly as good as that guy with the dumbass pigtail is reported to be!"

"I'll show you how strong I am!" Akane shouted, getting angry now. She paid no heed to the fight occurring nearby, concentrating on her two opponents. She redirected or dodged several attacks, trying to land another haymaker and failing, the two Sekirei facing her now used to her speed and able to see her blows coming even if the former staffwielder's defense was nothing to write home about. Akane had some decent form, but she telegraphed her attacks, and this was enough for the two of them to slowly break through her defenses. Even so without Taki she might have beaten the staff-wielder.

Eventually Akane was being pressed back enough that the staff wielder was able to pick her weapon up off the ground, looping a foot under it and hurling it intothe air. Catching it deftly, she brought it down in an overhead strike to Akane's head.

Akane barely got an arm up to bloke the blow. The staff blow landed, cracking down on Akane's forearm weapon with enough force to shatter bone which it did, causing Akane to cry out as she felt her forearm break. "Gah!" She fell back going to one knee and cradling her injured arm with her other hand.

Nearby, Yashima went down too, the sheathed edge of the scythe wielder's weapon smashing into her chest while Mitsuha slowly choked her from behind with her whip. She lost her grip on the hammer which clattered to the street, and the scythe wielder stood over her, staring down at Yashima disdainfully. "Taki, Juusa, are you two nearly done with that girl? She's not a Sekirei, she's of no use to us unlike this weak bitch."

"Nearly, Yomi" said Juusa, moving over to stand over Akane, cracking her knuckles. "I want to have some fun first. What was that about making us taking you seriously? Well we took you seriously girl, just as serious as this concussion will…"

Before she could bring down a blow which would send Akane into unconsciousness Akane roared, heaving herself to her feet. In her uninjured hand she was suddenly holding a hammer, the same ki-hammer that she had threatened Ranma with when Akitsu first showed up which she swung upwards. The ki hammer slammed into Juusa's chest, hurling her down the street with a cry of agony into a building a full block away, the mist around them parting from the force of the wind of her passage.

At that sight the other Sekirei quickly moved backwards, joining up to face Akane. She stayed where she was on unsteady feet, her breath coming in gasps, barely able to raise her ki hammer as she faced him.

"That's it! No more Miss nice Sekirei," shouted Yomi, flipping a switch on her blade. This shot the sheath off of it quickly leaving the blade bared and deadly. "You're no Sekirei, and while we've been told not to kill civilians, since you're fighting us that means you're no fucking civilian either."

She raced forward, along with the other two intending to encircle and kill Akane as quickly as they could, but before they could there was a shout from nearby "Fire Wall!"

The three Sekirei swiftly brought themselves to a halt as between her then Akane wall of fire two stories tall appeared, encircling them and pushing them back. They quickly went into a triangle formation, and the wall of flame stopped moving, rising even higher for a second before cutting out.

The cause of this sudden interruption became apparent as a man dressed in a black long coat and white undershirt with a half mask covering his lower face hopped down to stand between the unconscious Yashima, Akane and the attacking Sekirei. "Hmmm, I think I've met at least one of you ladies before. When will you people ever learn? Fights are supposed the one-on-one, none of this low-class ganging up on one another."

"Low class!?" Shouted Mitsuha.

"How dare you!" raged Yomi, though she made no move to try and close with the fire user, nor did Mitsuha.

For her part Taki swiftly realized that this was going bad. She turned to their injured fellow, looking her over with a wince at the obviously broken ribs.

"And on top of that," the man said, ignoring their words. "You even have the gall to attack a human with intent to kill? If that's the case, you can hardly blame me for doing the same when it comes to you."

He held up her head, and between his fingers flames began to appear. He then held out his hand towards them, gesturing the fire forward. "Begone!"

The sparks flew from his hand shooting out towards them in a tongue of fire and the three attacking Sekirei quickly retreated. "Damn you Homura, I swear one of these days you're going to get in our way just one time too many, you damn lion of defense!" shouted Mitsuha.

"Let's just go!" Groused Taki. "A weakling like Yashima's not worth this effort, and we need to get Juusa some medical attention."

As the three of them retreated, the flame wielder turned to Akane. He bowed grandly, almost reminding her of Kuno for a moment, but his words were not nearly as flowery. "You were doing very well, much better than most humans would have certainly. I don't suppose you and this young lady were already heading home?"

Akane nodded wearily. Now that the battle was over, her adrenalin was slowly draining out of her, and the pain in her arm was becoming almost overpowering.

"Will you need help getting home?"

At that, Akane was torn. The man was being polite, and he had certainly proven he could fight which was a good thing, and what she could see of his face looked handsome. But he was also dressed something like a cross between a ninja pervert she'd seen in Naruto, and Tuxedo Kame from Sailor Moon so she wasn't really willing to trust him. _Besides, we're close enough to Nerima I can get myself home._

"Just help me wake up my friend here, and then the two of us can get into Nerima quickly enough."

"I'll do that, and I'll follow you until you're well into Nerima just in case. While no Sekirei fights have occurred there yet, it's only a matter of time."

Akane snorted harshly, then winced looking down at her arm, which was now a violent black and purple from her wrist to her elbow. "Not if they know what's good for them. _Damn this is really starting to hurt!_ It was slowly getting through to Akane that she had just been about to lose a fight. Not only lose, but be seriously injured. _Maybe, maybe I really did bite off more than I could chew here._

"By the way, where did you pull that hammer from?" the man asked.

Akane blinked, looking over at the man who had just knelt by her new friend, waking her up with a gentle shake of the shoulder. "What hammer?"

Confused the man turned and only to stop and stare as the hammer in her hand dissipated. "…I'm not even going to ask." T _hese martial artists, even the ones who aren't particularly astonishingly tough, cursed and friendly with Miya-sama seemingly can break my idea of normality all too easily._

He brightened then as Yashima's eyes fluttered open. _On the other hand, I'm not the one who is trying to run this game while all these wild cards are causing havoc. I sincerely hope Minaka is enjoying his so-called game._

 **OOOOOOO**

"Okay, that was kind of cool I'll admit. I might want to try to work that whole 'for the pain' speech at the end there into some of my taunts. The romance though was kind of not really important. I mean most of it happened off-screen, and the movie was mostly about him both proving his love and then freeing her, right?" Ranma asked as the credits for the _Princess Bride_ rolled.

"Oh, and…." He went on, holding up a hand as if he was a debater about to make an important point, "rapiers suck. They are the worst sword type I've ever dealt with, so pointless, get it point-less? Still funny though."

"The movie isn't supposed to be a serious romance Ranma," Nabiki said with a laugh, smacking her shoulder against his. She was sitting on one side of the sofa, with Ranma in the center and Akitsu on his other side. Kasumi had also joined them, and was sitting on the floor in front of Nabiki, leaning back against her younger sister's legs. "I suppose we could show you a serious romance?" she teased. "Help you… get in touch… with your female side maybe?"

"No thank you! And for some reason, the way you said I 'get in touch with my female side' sounded just wrong." Ranma retorted, pushing her shoulder back against Nabiki's lightly. "Akitsu what did you think?"

Akitsu cocked her head thoughtfully. "…It was funny. The spandex those characters were wearing. Do you think I would look good in that Ranma-sama?"

Ranma blushed, while the other two girls laughed. "Erm, yeah, duh Akitsu, you'd look good in a paper bag," He replied earnestly if embarrassedly. However he noticed something else and put an arm around Akitsu's shoulders. "What's wrong?"

Akitsu frowned, but leaned into the touch slightly and answered in her normal monotone voice. "The torture chamber reminded me somewhat of the room where I was adjusted. Some of the adjustments were very painful."

"And yet another reason why I need to find someone in MBI to smack around," Ranma growled.

"This has been very fun," Kasumi said brightly, turning around so she could look at the others and hoping to break the sudden downturn the conversation had taken. "It has been a longtime since we did something like this as a family."

"And were not doing it as a family now are we Kasumi" Nabiki said, lightly poking her sister with her big toe. "Akane's out, and our fathers are both gone."

"Amen to that!" Ranma said with a laugh. Apparently, his father had come home and grabbed Soun then raced to a way like a panda out of hell. _The old man must've thought the chef was still after him_ , Ranma thought in amusement. _Or maybe he was just using the threat of that to get the living weeping river to leave with him._

"I for one am quite happy we won't have to deal with either of them for a few weeks," he went on. "I like my dad, but he isn't exactly the most stable of personalities. And no offense, but your father doesn't seem much better."

"It's not nice to speak like that about Father," Kasumi admonished then sighed. "But you're right. He's never been the strongest of personalities, let alone the most stable."

Nabiki stood up, stretching in place her arms over her head as she cracked her neck and shoulders. This very intentionally left her rear directly at Ranma's eye level, and he couldn't stop himself from looking, blushing slightly at the view of her pert, toned yet still soft looking rear.

Looking over her shoulder Nabiki saw this and smiled slightly before looking away. Akitsu saw this in turn and pressed herself into Ranma side, almost glaring at Nabiki which she also caught but didn't respond to. "We'll have to do this again," she said aloud. "There are a lot of modern movies I doubt you've seen on the road Ranma."

"Star Wars?" Kasumi asked hopefully.

"You and your obsession with Star Wars sis," Nabiki said with a laugh. "All right, if you can get Akane to agree, that can be the next movie night thing."

"What's Star Wars?" Ranma asked innocently, with Akitsu also cocking her head and staring at the two sisters.

Kasumi gasped in shock. "You really have been deprived! We'll have to do that then. For now however it is getting late," So saying, Kasumi began to clean up the drinks and the bowl they had used for the popcorn. Between them Akitsu and Ranma had eaten practically all the popcorn they had in the house.

As she was cleaning up, the house's front door opened and Akane's voice was heard, sounding far weaker than normal. "I'm home. I, I kind of need some help?"

At the pain-filled voice of their youngest sister both Nabiki and Kasumi dropped what they had been doing and raced for the front door with Ranma on their heels and Akitsu trailing behind him. in the small entranceway they found an unknown girl with a hammer strapped to her back helping Akane along, the youngest Tendo woman holding her arm to her chest. There was a bright black and blue mark from her elbow to her wrist, and Ranma winced at the sight of it. _Ahh damn that looks broken and badly too._

"Akane what happened to you!" Kasumi gasped moving forward to help Akane along, staring down at her forearm aghast.

Akane paled, not having remembered until just then that she hadn't told Kasumi where she had gone and had no desire to tell her oldest sister what she had been really up to. "I was walking back from the mall," she said, prevaricating quickly. "I went there to pick up a present for one of my friends and I found Yashima here and another Sekirei sparring. I interrupted a few guys who wanted to do perverted things to them and then offered her a home.

Akane weekly gestured to her new friend, who was looking intimidated by the new people a little especially Ranma staring at him for a moment before looking down at her feet as Akitsu moved between them not even noticing the mark on Akitsu's forehead signifying she was broken. "But we were attacked on the way home."

"I'll get Doctor Tofu!" Kasumi said quickly. "Nabiki, go to my room and find some of the medical supplies, specifically pain killers. "Akitsu, can you summon some ice to put on that for a moment, maybe if we can deaden the pain some Akane will feel better."

Ranma moved forward, gesturing that he could take Akane's weight now and Akane rather reluctantly let him while Yashima trailed behind, looking rather intimidated still. "Who attacked you?" he asked grimly.

The new girl and Akane quickly described their attackers, and Ranma nodded slowly. "I met at least two of those before. They're from the South and they belong to this little rich brat, don't remember his name. Dammit, I thought he'd gotten the message loud and clear by this point about this whole ganging up and forced winging shit!"

Nearby, Kasumi had picked up the phone, and dialed Doctor Tofu's office and despite it pushing eleven at night Doctor Tofu's quickly answered. "This is Doctor Tofu can I help you?"

"Doctor, this is Kasumi, my sister…" Kasumi began.

She was interrupted by the voice on the other end, going suddenly high-pitched and almost clown like. "Kasumi! H-how are you? It's been a few days since I last saw you, or your family, Betty's been asking about you all."

"I am personally fine **Doctor** ," Kasumi said, letting her voice harden somewhat. "However, my sister came home with what looks like a badly broken arm, and a friend who seems to have other injuries. We need you to make a house call immediately."

"Ahh, a house call, of course of course, I'll be right by."

When Nabiki returned with the household medical supplies Ranma began to perform some first aid on Yashima. She had a few cuts and scarps and more than one bruise, but other than a major bruise on the side of her neck she was alright. Kasumi and Nabiki in contrast couldn't do much for Akane except make her comfortable, pad her arm with ice and feed her a lot of pain killers along with some of Nabiki's carefully hoarded snacks.

Tofu arrived quickly, hopping over the outer wall with a black bag of supplies in one hand. He looked serious for a few moments as he entered the house, but the moment he spotted Kasumi, he began to stiffen, his glasses going opaque almost. "K-Kasumi, fancy meeting you here!" he said, his voice high pitched as he talked not to her but a fern plant that sat in the corner of the sitting room.

"Of course I am here doctor I'm the one who called you to look at my youngest sister's broken arm!" Kasumi said sharply, gesturing down to Akane, who was suddenly looking a little fearful. Ranma caught onto that and wondered why, but Nabiki had also quickly backed away from both Akane and Tofu, standing by the stairs, having pulled Yashima with her, who was also looking between the newcomer and Akane questioningly.

"Oh… um, right," Tofu seemed to shake himself, staring out away from Kasumi as he pinched his side for some reason. Somewhat more composed he moved over to Akane, his glasses almost back to normal.

Seeing this Nabiki reached forward and pulled Kasumi out of his line of sight, causing the oldest Tendo girl to stare at her in frowning confusion, but Nabiki simply shook her head, watching closely. She then looked over at Ranma and whispered, "If he does anything odd can you get him away from Akane quickly?"

"Sure, but why?" Ranma whispered back, not turning away from where Tofu was running a gentle hand down the interior of Akane's injured forearm.

"Let's just say that Tofu has a bit of a… issue at times, okay," Nabiki replied, looking between Tofu and her two sisters.

"Thankfully Tofu seemed to conquer whatever mad fit was working its way through his body, quickly analyzing Akane's arm. Well, her arm is sharply fractured in one place the bones have been distorted out of proportion. Akane, I'm going to have to set the bone now. I'll deaden the nerves in your arm first and the again after, so you don't have to deal with the pain, but you'll have to come by every day until it's healed for me to keep doing that. Though there will be some long term consequences of doing that in terms of muscle control. We''ll talk further about that tomorrow alright?"

Akane nodded, looking both relieved and happy for some reason. "That's gre, I mean, that sounds fine Dr. Tofu."

Looking at Akane Ranma wondered what was going on there, watching intently at how Tofu touched a few points on Akane's upper arm, watching a look of happiness come over her as the pain in her arm disappeared.

With that done Tofu quickly set to work, both setting the bone once more, then rubbing a salve into the skin before splinting the arm with several splints rather than the two which would normally be used. "I know how energetic a young lady you are Akane, so I'd prefer to build in some protection for your arm right away." Tofu chuckled, watching Akane blush.

Once that was done, Tofu looked over at the others, his glasses fogging up once more as he looked at Kasumi. Nabiki however quickly stood between them and then moved forward, grabbing Tofu's arm and pulling him away from Akane just in case. "I can't thank you enough for getting here so quickly Dr. Tofu. Can you prescribe some painkillers for her, or can we get by with those pressure points and the common brands?"

"Common brands for now, I'll talk with Akane tomorrow about the pressure points and how long it will be safe to use them. After that there are a few pain killers I can recommend," Tofu replied, coming back to himself quickly.

This disappeared as Kasumi moved around Nabiki to smile at the older man. "That sounds good, and I'll thank you as well for this doctor. I will call you if anything happens with Akane's injuries. Would you like some food to take home with you?"

"Er, yes, yes, those cookies you made me a few months back were very tasty, why I think I ate the whole plate! Betty liked them too of course," Tofu replied, pulling the skeleton whose skull Ranma had crushed when they first met out of his bag with a speed that made Ranma blink. "Didn't you Betty dear?"

"Betty-headless more like," Ranma muttered, shaking his head and leaning down to help Akane sit up while Kasumi led the doctor into the kitchen. "What was all that about?" Nearby Yashima also nodded, while Akitsu simply looked on, though in her case it wasn't incomprehension but simply uncaring.

"Dr. Tofu likes Kasumi," Akane whispered, looking both relieved and sad. "He's always losing control of himself like that around her. And this was actually a pretty mild episode thanks to Nabiki. It could have really gone bad if he had lost it completely, especially when he was working on my arm."

"Well that went about as well as it could have I suppose," Nabiki said, coming back in with Kasumi, as a loud carol of a Christmas song was heard dopplering away over the rooftops.

"Tofu-san is a very good doctor, but he's so silly all the time," Kasumi said, sighing faintly. "I could wish he would be more serious sometimes."

Looking around at Nabiki and Akane, Ranma saw both of them rolling their eyes but saying nothing. Deciding to simply blurt it out, Ranma said "You know he's like that around you because he likes you right?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Kasumi asked, looking shocked.

"It's a kind of fit of nerves I suppose, right?" Ranma asked looking over at Akane, who had blanched as soon as he opened his mouth again. "That's what Akane just told me."

While Nabiki rolled her eyes once more Kasumi shuddered, looking over at Akane pleadingly. "Please tell me he's joking!"

Akane blinked, her shock at Ranma's blunt statement leaving her as she stared at her older sister. "Why? He… Ranma was telling the truth Kasumi. I mean he's always acted like that around you because he likes you. You didn't know?" she asked incredulously.

"No I didn't! I thought he was just acting like that because he was silly." Kasumi actually shouted, something that startled both her sisters.

"But, but what about how you're always giving him food and going over and borrowing books?" Nabiki asked, frowning as suddenly saying that aloud made her realize how lame it sounded.

"I give him food because he is a bachelor who lives alone and he has always given the family a discount for his services, which has been useful many times. As for borrowing books, there was a time when I dreamed of being a school nurse. Reading medical books is one way to move forward with that idea despite my…" Kasumi trailed off, and both her sisters nodded, realizing what she had left unsaid.

"So… you don't like him?" Akane said. She wanted to be very clear on this. "Erm, why don't you, I mean, he's handsome, mature and strong, a man instead of a boy…"

"While I like mature men, I can't see myself with someone that much older than me, and further someone who has such control issues." Kasumi said shuddering. "Gah, I remember him as my doctor too you know! He, he gave me my first physical, ugh… This all sounds far too much like obsession to me."

With that Kasumi stood up promptly, and moved over to her father's liquor cabinet. Pulling out but a lot of sake, she knocked half of it back in one go.

The others stared at her, and then let Ranma began to laugh. "Okay, I can see that that that is kind of disturbing now that you mention it. Makes me wonder if I should trust Akitsu with him."

"Thank you for being the voice of reason Ranma," Kasumi said smiling at him sweetly. "And that is probably the first and last time anyone will ever say that to you. As for Akitsu, you should be alright; I'll admit that aspect is probably me just overreacting. Whatever he might act like around me Dr. Tofu is a very good doctor."

Akane continued to look at her older sister in shock while Nabiki laughed, and Ranma held up his hands to his chest, as if he had taken a mortal wound. The Sekirei just looked on rather confused by events.

Glancing at the clock Nabiki asked, "How are we all going to sleep tonight?" It was now pushing elven thirty, and they all had to get up early tomorrow for school.

"Well Akitsu is sleeping in my room," Kasumi said, looking at the ice user, who pouted but nodded having understood finally that she couldn't sleep with her Ashikabi as she wanted to in someone else's house. Thought the fact that Genma was not around any longer meant that Akitsu felt she might push that rule in the future.

"We could put Yashima in with me" Akane volunteered.

At that Yashima spoke up for the first time. "Probably not a good idea," she said softly. "I apparently snore." The others looked at her and she flushed. "I slept with a few other Sekirei in a single dormitory while we were all being adjusted and nearly all of them complained about it."

"If Yashima wants a room of her own, I'll sleep on the couch," Ranma said.

"There's no need for that, you can take over Father's bed until he returns. He is not around to use it after all." Kasumi said.

"That works," Ranma said with a shrug.

As the others were heading to bed, Ranma touched Nabiki on the wrist, gesturing her to wait for second. As the others walked up the stairs he leaned in and asked "is it just me, or did your little sister look a little subdued there"?

"She was definitely subdued Ranma," Nabiki said tartly. "This might have been a wake-up call for her. One can only hope."

Again there was a flash of something in her eyes that Ranma couldn't identify _. Not satisfaction, more like grim appreciation maybe? And sadness? Dammit, I wish I was as good at reading expressions and eyes as I am at reading body language in a fight._

"And what's this, caring for my little sister?" Nabiki asked cocking an inquisitive eyebrow at Ranma.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "I might not like her, but she didn't deserve to have her arm broken like that just for trying to help someone else out. And even I could tell that she was way too quiet."

 _On the other hand it could have been a lot worse, they got really lucky that this Homura guy was in the area. And it's nice to know that there's another person out there who is willing to interrupt forced winnings like that. I to see what Miya knows about him. Huh… didn't she say something about Kagari being a fire wielder?_

"True, but maybe this will help curb further adventures on her part. At least that way some good will come from this," Nabiki replied, before tapping Ranma on the shoulder and turning away. "I'll see you with my morning coffee tomorrow boy, be sure it's got enough milk and sugar in it will you?"

"Yes mistress," Ranma said, bowing as she turned away, before actually swatting her on the rear when she wasn't looking. Laughing he leaped over her head, heading up to the second floor as Nabiki followed flushing hotly and rubbing at her now stinging rear.

 **OOOOOOO**

Staring at the report in her hands, Kodachi scowled. "If I am reading this correctly Sasuke, my brother came very close to death. Is this the case?"

"I'm afraid so mistress. My fellow ninjas and the shadow-kin were able to get him away, and the young master surely did himself credit for facing such a monstrous powerful, nay inhuman woman. She had the strength of a full grown Oni! If not for master Tatewaki's enhanced durability, which he gets from being a member of your illustrious line of course, he would have been literally sliced in half by any one of her blows." The man Kodachi addressed reported.

He was a very short man, barely coming up to Kodachi's waist when he was standing up straight let alone when on one knee as he was now. He wore traditional ninja garb complete with head gear, had a small whiskery face that resembled that of a rodent almost, save not pointed in any manner. At the moment that face was scrunched in concern as he spoke to the lady of the house.

"The Shadow-kin sacrificed themselves by the dozens to get Master Kuno away from her, and most of them fell to the woman's blade. It will be some weeks before they reform, which has unfortunately forced me to pull most of our ninja spies back to the mansion to make up the loss in numbers amongst the guard. Master Kuno on the other hand will be on his feet and fully healed in a few days," Sasuke finished.

"I see. And this occurred when he went to beard MBI in its lair?" Kodachi asked.

"Yes mistress," Sasuke said, wincing and hoping that his mistress wasn't going to fly off the handle and tried to attack MBI herself.

"And I take it you were able to convince him not to pursue that madness further after his wounds?"

Breathing a sigh of relief Sasuke smiled and nodded. "Yes mistress. The swordswoman's abilities have warned Master Tatewaki off doing so, though he is still interested in the Yuki-onna. He will instead seek to court her directly, rather than work through MBI to get her moved in with us here rather than with this Ranma fellow and his friends.

"I see. Well, it's nice to know that my brother has some measure of self-preservation that will at least keep him from getting himself killed." She tapped her finger on the desk as she thought. "You have no doubt been observing my brother's obsession, this Akane wench, and now Akitsu for him?"

When Sasuke blinked Kodachi rolled her eyes. "I have heard of both Akitsu and this Ranma man before this. Is she really assigned to him? My source gave me the impression that the two of them were romantically involved." Seeing Sasuke hesitate Kodachi scowled. "Speak plainly" she ordered.

"I'm afraid that that is my impression too mistress. Your brother does not see it, and of course even if that is the case surely the young master would be the better catch, but…"

"Enough," Kodachi said waving that off. She thought for a moment, tapping her finger on the desk in front of her once more. "If this Ranma fellow is truly taking a stand against MBI and this Sekirei Game, I think I want to talk to him. Observe him this next week as best you may without being seen. And if he is in fact involved with this Akitsu and is determined to make this game as honorable as possible, I will wish to invite him over to talk formally this next weekend."

 **OOOOOOO**

The next day after school was over Nabiki decided to stay at school for a while to touch base with her friends and start up a pool to see how long Kuno would be out of school. She and Ranma both bet on only a few days more, while most of the students thought it would be weeks before he returned given the fact he had been so obviously wounded.

This left Ranma walking to the dojo alone for once, which he used to take to the rooftops again. Halfway there he paused seeing that Akane had been even quicker than he had been to leave school behind. That was unusual enough, but she was also not heading towards the dojo, rather she was going toward Doctor Tofu's office. _Oh yeah, she does need to get her arm looked at._ He stared first at her and then the doctor's office a few blocks away, barely visible from his vantage point at the moment thanks to the intervening rooftops as he remembered what Kasumi had said last night.

 _So, Doctor Tofu's got a crush on Kasumi, who thinks it's disturbing and gross because he's so much older than her and because he's been the family doctor for so long. Then we've got Akane, who likes him, again the family doctor and a middle aged guy. Tofu of course doesn't know that Kasumi thinks it's gross, While Akane does and doesn't seem to understand why…_

He thought for a moment then shook his head. _Yeah, you could not pay me to get involved with that train wreck._

With that Ranma resolutely turned away and continued to hop across the rooftops towards the dojo. Halfway there however as he hopped from a roof down to a wall, he felt a splash of water catching him from behind out of nowhere.

Twisting quickly, he glared angrily at the old ladle woman, who was once more out on her porch cleaning her porch. She simply smirked back triumphantly, stuffing her ladle into its bucket and turning to go inside.

"I'll get you!" Ranma shouted. "One of these day's you'll catch me in a bad mood granny and then you'll find your entire house full of water! See if you like being wet!"

Receiving no reply other than a cackle from inside, Ranma turned her feet once more towards the dojo. There she found both Haihane and surprisingly Tsukiumi waiting there. They were glaring at one another, though sitting calmly enough at the table thanks to Kasumi's presence. Beside Kasumi sat Yashima, looking about as comfortable as a rabbit around two competing foxes.

Haihane and Tsukiumi looked up as Ranma entered, and she nodded before looking around behind him as he felt Akitsu suddenly behind him. "Gahh! Akitsu how did you get behind me!?"

She simply blinked at him, her entire face showing incomprehension. "My place is by your side Ranma-sama."

Sighing Ranma nodded slowly, gesturing her to sit down with the other two as she did the same next to her. Ranma had noticed that while he/she was at school or doing something else away from her, Akitsu's mannerisms began to slide back to what they had been when they first met. _At least she's not calling me Ashikabi-sama any longer._

"Would you like some hot water Ranma?" Kasumi asked.

While Tsukiumi looked a little quizzical at that, Ranma shook his head. "Nah, there's no point since it looks as if it's going to rain anyway. So I take it you both would like some training?"

Haihane was looking at the redhead, her head cocked to one side as she stared from her face down to her breasts. She had heard about the curse of course, even before she and Benitsubasa had been sent after Ranma. Now however faced with the reality she began to choke, giggling to herself for some reason. _Hehehheh,_ _even a boy-turned girl has a better chest than Benitsubasa!_

"Indeed, I had hoped to at least talk with you about further training myself in close range combat. I do realize that is a weakness of mine. I also wished to see if you had any other ideas I might make use of with my superior water mutilation skills," Tsukiumi replied haughtily.

She then smiled politely at Kasumi. "Ms. Kasumi here found the both of us arguing out on the roof, which I have to admit was rather rude of us, and invited us in for this lovely tea." Then her gaze sharpened as she turned back to Ranma. "I did not know that you had been so profligate with your offers of training…"

"Haven't been really," Ranma shrugged. "I offered to help you train because we ran into one another, and I know that since you are so powerful you'll be marked by those idiots who're trying to forcefully wing you Sekirei. As for Haihane here, we fought a few days ago. She and her partner were sent after me to try and teach me a lesson for not following the rules of the game."

"It didn't work," Haihane said dryly, still snorting in laughter as she looked from Ranma's face to her breasts once more. He offered to help train me, so long as I was willing to listen. Ranma and his old man wanted to figure out if Fist type Sekirei were really better at their specialty than others."

"And before you ask, I decided to offer that because there was nothing personal in our fight and she seriously needs it. Besides, some of the things the disciplinary squad has to do are actually needed." Ranma interjected.

Haihane nodded. "Just yesterday I stopped two Ashikabi from using their Sekirei to go on a crime spree. Was both against the rules, and's just plain stupid."

"Very well," Tsukiumi said arrogantly, her back ramrod straight. "I do must admit that even dogs of MBI can have some use."

Haihane shrugged. "Doggies are cute." The others blinked at her, and she rolled her eyes. "Know it was an insult, don't care."

"Not so loyal to MBI are we?" Ranma asked, one eyebrow rising in query.

Now it was Haihane's turn to blink, which she did before laughing. "Loyal? Only reason I joined the disciplinary squad was so I could get into fights, loyalty doesn't come into it."

"Totally understand that," Ranma said with a nod as Tsukiumi did the same and Kasumi rolled her eyes very discretely.

"Indeed, a most excellent reason, but does that not perforce mean that you **are** loyal to them?" Tsukiumi reasoned.

Haihane shrugged. "Haven't thought about it. Not so loyal to my Ashikabi, Natsuo, that's for sure."

"What?" said both Akitsu and Tsukiumi.

They looked at one another then back to Haihane, while Kasumi and Ranma also looked at one another in surprise. "Why? Isn't that how your Ashikabi Sekirei thing is supposed to work?" Ranma asked.

"Natsuo's gay," Haihane said simply.

For a moment there was silence then Kasumi suddenly raised a hand blushing brightly. "Ahem, um, when you say he's gay, what do you mean exactly? Do you mean it as he's a very happy fellow or…"

"As in boys love!" Haihane said giggling now at their gob-smacked expressions. The only one who wasn't reacting was Akitsu, who was just drinking her tea calmly. "As in Natsuo likes it through the back door, as in he uses more hair gel and body wash than I do, as in he's a very, **very** pretty boy, definitely the Uke in any relationship."

She looked at the various blushes around the table before she broke down again, pounding the table in laughter.

"Right!" Ranma said shaking her head to clear it of those horrible images. "Okay so that went so far beyond too much information it's leaving orbit! Let's move on to happier things. Now that there are four of you and one of me, we can have a game of King of the Mountain."

"Is that not a child's game?" Tsukiumi said, also grateful for the change in subject. "I do remember my adjustor playing it with me."

"Kind of but not quite," Ranma said with a smile hopping to her feet. "I'll show you in the dojo." By this point it had indeed begun to rain once more, and Ranma had no desire to get wet again before she had to.

The others followed her quickly, though Yashima looked a little reluctant as she followed silently.

The rule of this simple training program was simple. There would be one person who was designated king of the mountain who had to stay within a circle Ranma drew on the floor with chalk. The others would attack her from different directions, and the king of the mountains would switch out if any of the others got in what was Ranma called kill shot, as he pointed to his head chest a or under the armpits.

"No kill shots on your legs?"

Ranma shook her head at Haihane's question, and hopped into the circle grinning at them all. "I'm king of the mountain," she sang. This seemed to goad the hotheaded Tsukiumi and Haihane into attacking right away which was exactly the point.

Surprisingly, with the others all fighting her at once, Ranma was tagged a few times and stepped out for the other one of the others. To everyone's surprise Akitsu lasted the longest but by less than a minute,. She was still declared the winner, and Ranma held her hand up overheard head and cheered while the others scowled a little.

Yashima had of course done worse than any of the others, which depressed her further. this lasted until the Sekirei all took a bath together, wherein Akitsu idly mentioned that she had done better than Akitsu would have when she first came to the dojo.

After that, Tsukiumi decided to leave before the sun started to go down and Haihane was called in to work. At the same time, Akane had come home quickly glared at the training going on and headed up to her room. Yashima quickly followed her, hoping to talk to her new friend again. This left Ranma and Akitsu to head out for patrol, before swinging by Miya's that evening.

There, Ranma told Miya about Yashima and her staying in the dojo.

"Does she have any interest in playing the game?" Miya asked.

"No idea." Ranma shrugged. "She's been talking to Akane a lot, and she seems to have a major confidence issue, but other than that I don't know. Certainly no one's going to try and force her to fight at the dojo. And there's no way MBI could force her since she doesn't even have her MBI card any longer. Yashima said it got stolen last night." That had actually been why Yashima and Kiriko had started fighting, Kiriko had been passing by and laughed at something on her phone, but Yashima had thought Kiriko was mocking her, so attacked the other Sekirei.

"I feel sorry for whoever stole it," Kocho said smiling evilly. "Those things have a **lot** of security on them, the moment he tried to use it he'd be tracked, taken into custody and possibly even liquidated at this stage in the game. MBI takes those cards very seriously, it's one of the reasons why all of us Sekirei have one, and since they are connected to the game, technically they are supposed to be secret."

 _Though given how the secret seems to be leaking out anyway that probably won't matter much any longer,_ Kocho thought sardonically. The number of videos, pictures and discussions on the internet about what was going on in Shin-Teito was astronomical, and Kocho knew for a fact it was spreading to the internet at large, not just the local systems. There were even a few videos of Ranma's curse in action, and his fight against the Disciplinary Squad had gone viral too.

So, oddly enough, had Ryoga's fight too. Oddly because the cameras recording it hadn't been nearly as well placed to catch all the action, but the video, in particular the close up of Ryoga's face, had suddenly captured the interest of a lot of people the world over. In particular various militaries and conspiracy theorists had grabbed onto it. Kocho idly wondered if she should look into why more closely but decided it wasn't worth the effort just yet.

"But if he'd she doesn't play the game, how will she find her destined one?" Musubi asked innocently.

"Ya make the mistake of thinking everyone wants to look for their destined one. At the moment, I think she just wants to get over her insecurities," Ranma said with a shrug.

"But finding her destined one would do that! He would love her unconditionally and…"

"Then use her in a game for his own wishes and desires? To fight other Sekirei? For no apparent reason that I can find other than the machinations of a madman?" Miya asked her voice like a scalpel, causing Musubi to blanch and shrink away from her. "Do not make the mistake of assuming that all your fellow feathers want to fight, while we are a combative race that doesn't mean we all enjoy such equally. Or that strength of arms should be the only way to achieve your dreams."

After a moment she turned back to Ranma, smiling lightly. "I am most pleased that while I might be constrained by my agreement with Minaka, you and your friends are so intent on providing another choice for my feathers going forward. Do not hesitate to send any further Sekirei you find who no longer or have never wished to fight to my inn here. My presence will protect them."

"Actually on that subject Kocho," Ranma said, turning to the gamer otaku. "I have a favor to ask of you. Then I want to talk to Kagari if he's here."

"He is, though he might not thank you for waking him up. His job after all keeps him up most of the night." Miya replied, looking at Ranma quizzically, wondering what he wanted to ask the Fire Sekirei. As far as she was aware the two of them had barely exchanged a few words since Ranma had first shown up. Kagari seemed even more thrown off by Ranma's curse than Matsu had been.

Shaking her head at that she asked Ranma if he and Akitsu would be staying for dinner. Getting an affirmative reply, Miya stood up, gesturing to Akitsu. "In that case I'll start dinner now. Akitsu, Musubi could you come help me please?" Though Miya worded that as a question it was obviously not one, rather an order. "Oh, and Ranma, Uzume wanted to talk to you if you stopped by."

While Musubi leaped to her feet and followed the landlady quickly Akitsu looked to Ranma first. He smiled, waving her off. "Don't worry Akitsu, I'm not gonna leave the inn without you. Promise."

At that Akitsu nodded and stood up quickly, following Miya into the inn's small but well stocked kitchen.

Ranma watched her go for a moment, having to shake his head not for the first time at how beautiful Akitsu was and how devoted she was to him. Both thoughts no longer made him nearly as uncomfortable as they had been even a few days ago. He looked up to see Kocho looking back at him, her lips twitching in amusement, but Ranma resolutely did not ask why. "So, the question I had to you was, can you tell me where that Hayato punk and the guy who sent men after you live? I think it's time to send a message not just to the coordinator of this game but the people trying to stack the deck in their favor."

That took Kocho no time at all, even though Ranma heard an indignant sounding squawk from the rubber duck set next to the phone in the sitting room. He left the room to head upstairs he heard Matsu's tinny voice shout "Why'd he ask you for that info you gamer otaku!? I'm much better at finding out secrets like that than you are!"

Kocho's return shot made him smile. "Well maybe if you ever left your room he might have you hikikimori!"

They were still arguing as he ascended to the second floor and knocked on Uzume's door. "Yo Uzume, ya decent? Nah what am I sayin' o' course you're not decent, are you at least clothed?"

"Ha good one! Yeah, come on in bro, I could use a distraction." Uzume's voice replied.

Ranma came in and was grateful to find that Uzume was indeed fully clothed rather than wearing lingerie or something like that. Technically that would have been wearing something after all. But instead Uzume sat at her desk in jeans and her normal straining star t-shirt. She had just turned the chair around to face the door as he entered, while behind Uzume Ranma could see a few printouts of some kind. "Miya-nee said ya wanted to speak with me?"

"Um yeah…" Uzume began, her normally cheerful air noticeably sloughing off her face. "I um, I was wondering if you and Biki-chan had any plans coming up in the near future for more pictures or something along those lines. She and I talked about using my costumes and such, but um…" Uzume looked over her shoulder at the papers on her desk. "Um it turns out I need some more money quicker than I thought. Chiho-chan's medical bills are getting more expensive than I'd been told initially."

"Okay first Biki-chan? Man I get in enough trouble calling her Nabs, I seriously want to be around when you call her that for the first time," Ranma said, causing Uzume to grin, some of her good humor returning. "And as for your question, I'll pass it on. I know she's got some Martial Arts construction exhibition matches set up this weekend. Suppose you could join in for those too. Even if ya don't know any, you Sekirei are a lot stronger than normal people, so you'd be useful for brute strength if nothing else."

"Just tell me the time and the place and I'm so there. I might even like to learn how to actually use this construction art of yours," Uzume replied. She stood up, crossing the intervening distance quickly to throw her arms around Ranma's shoulders in the most normal hug she'd ever given him. Even so Ranma felt her large breasts smooshing against his chest, not that he made any comment, or minded really. "Thanks for this bro, seriously. Chiho-chan, she, she's so sick, and there's only me to care about her now, and…"

"Hey it's okay," Ranma said interrupting her uncomfortably. He was never very good with talking about feelings at all, but talking about serious things with Uzume of all people added to the strangeness despite his not having known her very long. "Any help ya need Uzume, I'll give. In fact if you really need money, I'll give you half of what I make from the construction gigs of ay more photo ops we do. As long as I can give enough money to the Tendos to pay for me and Akitsu's food that's all I need."

Ranma would like some money to use in the future, and was interested to see if Nabiki's ideas on investment panned out in the future. But really money was more a luxury than a necessity for him.

"Thanks Ranma. I, I might have to take you up on that, but I hope not for long." Uzume said, pulling back from the hug and slugging him good naturedly on the shoulder. "But enough of the serious shit for now, has Akitsu broken you down yet? That girl needs a good seeing to or she's gonna blow."

Rolling his eyes Ranma moved back to the door. "Nice to see you're back to normal Uzume. I'll see you at dinner." At the doorway he paused, then looked back at her, smirking. "Oh and if you are free tomorrow night, I might want your help on another little project over at Overcompensation Tower."

Uzume laughed at that and Ranma left heading a few doors down to Kagari's. Knocking on the door, he waited, then knocked again twice more before he heard a grumble from the other side he decided to take as an okay to come in.

Inside he found Kagari laid out on his bed, half in and half on his sheets. He was still wearing his pants, but he was currently shirtless, and with one boot on. There was also a half mask hanging from the light on his night table. Ranma ignored that, figuring however Kagari had to dress up to make his costumers happy was his own business. Instead he shook his head at how pale Kagari was. Akitsu was pale too of course, but Kagari was even more so, and it didn't look as healthy or natural on him either. His thin chest was on display given his shirtless state, and Ranma could see that while he had little muscle definition he also didn't have much fat. _Definitely a Bishounen with a look like that, heh, he looks like one of those sparkly vampires from America._

Kagari cracked an eye open to stare at his guest, only for his eyes to widen for a moment as he noticed it was Ranma. Then they slumped back, Kagari was just too damn tired to try and get away from the bizarrely cursed younger man. "Ugh… what is it Ranma?"

"Well I wanted to get some guy advice about Akitsu from you and why you've been avoiding me, but I figure how tired you are I'll just ask the first one. Though seriously if Miya's right that you sometimes protect other Sekirei from being forcefully winged we should start to work together. At least try to work out a patrol schedule, and I bet we could get Musubi and Uzume to join us, maybe even Tsukiumi."

At the name of the water user Tsukiumi rolled his eyes but said nothing about that, instead waving a hand to indicate Ranma should get on with it. "You said something about needing some advice?"

"Yeah…" Ranma hesitated. While this subject was possibly just as important as working with Kagari to protect unwinged Sekirei, it wasn't one he was nearly as comfortable with. "Um, okay see the thing is, while I'm not nearly as comfortable with the whole Ashikabi/Sekirei thing, I know she believes it, and I know that she um, she…"

"Loves you?" Kagari interrupted, his lips twisting into something like a smile and scowl rolled into one, though he didn't say anything. "Is it that hard to say?"

"Kinda, yeah." Ranma shrugged awkwardly. "Um, but she believes it, so I suppose I kinda have to? But um My question is, she um, she's into chains and um, kind of kinky stuff. The question is, is that really something she's into, or should I assume that's a product of her thinking she was broken?"

Kagari grimaced at that. To Ranma, Akitsu was simple someone with a problem caused by someone else. But to Sekirei, she was just that: broken. She would never be able to bond with an Ashikabi, never feel that power, never use a norito or achieve the power or skill she could otherwise have done. It was far more of a profound thing than Ranma seemed to think.

No doubt that did have an impact on Akitsu's personality, but Kagari didn't think it would have to extent Ranma seemed to think it might. "I think from what you've said and what Uzume has mentioned that Akitsu is indeed a real submissive." He watched in amusement as the younger man blushed brightly at that, but didn't tease him as Uzume would have. As tired as he was and honestly as still freaked out by magic being real and Ranma's curse as he was, Kagari just wanted to get this conversation over with. _Then again, I'll have enough fun with this just taking it seriously without a need to outright tease._

"Being in a relationship with a submissive there are a few things you should know," Kagari went on, ignoring how Ranma's blush seemed to intensify when he heard the word relationship. "First, don't push her too far too fast. She'll go along with it, but she'll be hurt deep down, and will never actually share how much doing so hurt her. Second, don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable, that's true in any relationship. When you get far enough along you'll need some safe words just in case. Don't bring in… items too quickly. I know Akitsu wears chains, but even then don't do anything more than maybe pulling on the ones she wears for a while until you're comfortable with things."

As Ranma continued to become redder and redder Kagari went on, keeping his amusement out of his tone easily. "Don't be afraid to initiate contact, kissing, touching etc. In fact doing so is a simple way to check if Akitsu is really as submissive as she appears or is just into bondage. Oh, but don't do anything in public unless that too is a kink of Akitsu's. There are ways to check that of course, what you do is…"

At that point Ranma fled, hopping to his feet and out the door in one single bound. "Thanks Kagari, that's enough see ya later!"

The door slammed shut behind him. Kagari laughed quietly until his head began to throb. Then he reached for a unmarked bottle of pills on his nightstand, tossing three of them back before falling back onto his bed. Closing his eyeshe wondered if Ranma would take his advice.

OOOOOOO

"Chief, I found some locals who can tell us directions to this Jusenkyou place. They look torn between laughing at us or praying for us for some reason. I don't know what to make of that honestly." One of the five specialists Minaka had sent into China said to his superior.

"That's better than the rest of us have done. As for the locals, man I'm torn between laughing and praying for us, and I don't know the local area around this cursed training ground place. Let's just go, get the crazy bastard his water samples and hopefully get out of…"

"Don't say it!" said more than one of the other agents, one of them going so far as to cover their leader's motuh. "You should know not to jinx us like that man!"

The leader rolled his eyes at that superstition but made no sign to resume his previous thought. Instead he waved the man who had spoken to the locals forward leading the way further up into the Balankala Range.

OOOOOOO

Akitsu was somewhat confused at present. She was happy to be moving over the rooftops with Ranma beside her. They had been on patrol for over an hour, but there didn't seem to be any activity at present beyond a few one on one fight's which Ranma had no issue with.

But what confused her was how red Ranma had been during the dinner they had at Miya's. The instant Ranma had laid eyes on Akitsu his face had exploded into color, which had remained for a while before fading. It occasionally came back, and seemed to be beyond Ranma's normal reactions to her body or her attempts to serve him.

Eventually as they continued to patrol, Akitsu decided that she would have to speak up. This was not something she was comfortable doing, but the reaction was so strange she had to. _And besides, Ranma-sama has often asked me to speak up if I am uncomfortable about something._

With that thought giving her courage and when next they stopped to decide where to go next Akitsu turned to look at Ranma rather than scan their surroundings as she was supposed to. "Ranma… is something bothering you?"

"What, no Akitsu, why did you think that?" Ranma asked turning to look at her quizzically. His eyes seemed to track down to the chains she wore around her chest and back, then back up to her face and away, another flush taking over his face.

"Because you cannot look at me without blushing and looking away. Did I do something wrong? I have not tried to sneak into your bath or your room in several days, did I do something else wrong?"

'Wh, no Akitsu! It's nothing you said, I just, um, let's just say that Kagari gave me some very blunt advice." Ranma's eyes trailed down Akitsu's body again, staring first at the chains wrapped around her chest and shoulders then the kimono she wore, her breasts pushing up and out just enough to look a little beyond what should be seen in public, though that could be said for many of the Sekirei Ranma had seen. But there was something about Akitsu her porcelain, skin, her curves, her inexpressive face which only showed emotion when they were alone, that heightened the impact of her looks.

 _Y'know this could be a good time to see if Kagari's advice was any good._ Flushing a little at the thought Ranma felt a surge of interest and something else go through him at the idea.

Reaching forward Ranma hesitated, his hand hovering just over one of Akitsu's chains for a moment before he grabbed it, his fingers pushing underneath between the chain and her kimono. He watched as Akitsu flushed, a light tint of rose coming to her face, but she didn't move away, indeed, she looked at him somehow expectantly.

"Y'know, you won that king of the mountain game Akitsu. I say that deserves a reward, don't you?" Ranma asked, tugging at Akitsu's chains.

They clinked together rubbing into her kimono clad body here and there, causing Akitsu to shudder not in fear but excitement. The look in Ranma's face, the desire there coupled with the fact he was finally, finally initiating things caused heat to bloom within her. Akitsu **loved** that warmth, the warmth Ranma could awaken within her, craving it like a freezing woman craved heat. "What, whatever Ranma-sama desires," she murmured. Looking down.

Ranma frowned, not liking that answer. He pulled harder at her chains, lifting his other hand to grab the second loop on the other side of her chest, tugging her to him. This caused Akitsu to look up, while Ranma shivered slightly at the odd feel of the silk of her kimono on the back of his fingers while holding her chains. The feel of her breasts heaving with her heavier breathing under the silk of her kimono enhanced the sensation to a whole other level. "That's not an answer Akitsu. Do you think you deserve a reward?"

"Ah… hai, Ranma…" Akitsu said, staring up into his face, answering as firmly as she could this time as she wound her arms around his back. Then her eyes widened in joy as she watched Ranma lean down towards her. Her tongue flicked out over her lips as she leaned up, feeling Ranma's lips touching hers.

The kiss started slowly as the rest of the world disappeared to the two of them, but when Ranma's hands shifted up over her shoulders following her chains to pull her closer to him Akitsu took the chance to open her mouth. This time Ranma didn't hesitate, his tongue plunging into her mouth to twine and twirl around her own forcefully. And when Akitsu moaned, he deepened the kiss, both of his hands shifting from her chain down to grasp her kimono clad rear to her, squeezing just hard enough to sting. At that Akitsu moaned again, her arms tightening around Ranma.

As her adjustments had not been finished, Akitsu's grip around Ranma would have broken a normal man in half. But Ranma barely grunted, one of his hands moving up to her shoulders pulling her tighter to him, her breasts now squished against Ranma's chest.

Akitsu quickly began to shudder in place, the euphoria of the moment overwhelming her as her Ashikabi her Ranma initiated something for the first time. But before she could once more reach the clouds and rain they were interrupted by a shout and a massive splash of water slamming into Ranma from the side. "Get away from her thou dishonorable cur!"

"Gah!" Ranma shouted, wrenched sideways out of Akitsu's arms.

She twisted slightly, but lost her grip on Ranma and fell to the ground. She stared first in shock and then rising anger at the sight of the now female Ranma slamming into the side of the taller building separated from the rooftop they been standing on across a thin alleyway.

Tsukiumi stood on a nearby rooftop, glaring angrily at where her water assault had carried the man she had just spotted forcefully attempting to wing Akitsu. "Damn monkey! Are you well Akitsu? Where is Ranma? You should know that you should be able to defend yourself from such as h…hi…him…" Tsukiumi's voice trailed off as she blinked in astonishment, staring at the redhead embedded in the wall across from her.

Ranma grumbled, pushing herself out of the body-shaped crater the attack had made in the wall, hopping back to land back on the rooftop she/he had started on a moment ago. "Damn it Tsukiumi, what'd ya go and do that for?!"

"Wh… Ranma… you… what, what is going on here!? Was, were you just crossdressing with a wig for some reason?" Tsukiumi asked, her mind grasping the only conclusion it possibly could from the evidence at hand.

"No, I wasn't crossdressing, yessh." Ranma replied then paused for two reasons. For one thing, she had just realized that she had never explained his curse to Tsukiumi, the one Sekirei she/he had thus far met that would almost certainly over react. _But surely she's heard about it by now, like from those rumors about when I ousted my curse to Hibiki and her sister, right? Oh who am I kidding, of course she hasn't she'd have mentioned it by now and that would be way too easy._ _ **FUCK MY LIFE!**_

For another, the air around the rooftop had become so cold that Ranma could see her breath. The water left over here and there in puddles from Tsukiumi's sudden attack had also begun to freeze.

Turning, Ranma looked at Akitsu. She was now staring at Tsukiumi her face impassive. Yet while that impassivity might have fooled someone who had never met her, Ranma did, and could see her fingers twitching at her sides her chest heaving slightly, and not just from the effects of the kiss.

Before things could get out of hand Ranma stepped between them her back to Tsukiumi for a moment as she locked eyes with Akitsu. "Calm down Akitsu, I'll handle this. Tsukiumi doesn't know about my curse, so she really was trying to protect you, no need for you to get angry, ok?"

Akitsu stared back at Ranma, but her anger didn't seem to be dissipating for s few seconds. Then she simply sighed and reined in her powers, the temperature around them going back to normal as she step back. "Yes Ashikabi-sama."

Wincing Ranma realized that Akitsu had called him that deliberately, her little way of getting back at him/her for interrupting her righteous vengeance on Tsukiumi.

Leaving that aside, she turned back to Tsukiumi who had been glaring at both of them, one foot tapping on the rooftop irritably. "I am still waiting for an explanation!"

"Look Tsukiumi it's pretty simple," Ranma began hesitantly. "Um, I'm cursed. Full on, magic-is-real kind of cursed. I was in China with my old man a few months ago, and we went to these training grounds…" From there Ranma launched into her well-rehearsed explanation of her condition. Idly she wondered if she should ask Nabiki to make up pamphlets. _Could maybe even sell them then, make some more money that way. Nah, that feels like an idea that would come back to bite me on my ass._

At first Tsukiumi listened incredulously to Ranma's explanation, then in rising anger. "You, you foul deceiver!" she suddenly shirked, interrupting Ranma's explanation. "You let me think you were no threat, a woman rather than a man in order to get me to lower my guard!"

"wha, why in the hell would I do that! And It ain't my fault I've been in my female form every time we see one another. I never tried to hide it, it was just damn bad luck! And look at it from my perspective, I was born a guy but now I have to deal with being a woman a lot of the time." Ranma shouted, dodging Tsukiumi's attacks and once more waving Akitsu away, not wanting this situation to spiral any further out of control.

"Bah, why should I believe you now!" Tsukiumi bellowed.

"Because if I wanted to try and wing you would I need to be a guy while doing it!?" Ranma shouted, ducking below another battering ram of water which had been launched towards her chest. "Besides, I hate the curse, I'm barely getting used to it myself, why would I go out of my way to tell anyone else about it?"

Tsukiumi blushed at that, but began to calm down. "That is true at least, but you should have at least told me about it when I stopped by a few days ago at the Tendo Dojo. Such would have been the perfect time to do so."

Seeing Tsukiumi calming down Ranma rose form his crouch, continuing to speak calmly. "You're right and I'll apologize for that. But you really don't have anything to worry about Tsukiumi. I'm not interested in winging anyone let alone you."

"'Let alone me' what is that supposed to mean!?" Tsukiumi said, flaring up once more. "Dost thou think I am not good enough for you, you damn monkey?"

"Gah, no, nothing like that, you're gorgeous and strong, anyone would…" Ranma babbled, eager to hold off righteous feminine anger even though she was one.

"So you do have designs on me!" Tsukiumi shouted in triumph. "No one is going to wing me, I need no man to become as strong as I can be!"

"What, ahh, damn it calm down, you freaking tsundere!" Ranma shouted, once more having to dodge Tsukiumi's attacks. But this time instead of retreating she closed the distance, dodging and ducking this way and that.

"What did you just call me!?" Tsukiumi tried to adjust her attacks, firing off smaller streams of water in an effort to overcome Ranma's speed advantage, but this proved useless when Ranma simply sped up. When she attempted to create a water sword to protect herself Ranma grabbed her arm forcing it wards and out from between the two of them.

Her other hand came up to tap lightly under Tsukiumi's chin. "Now if I was interested in winging you against your will I could do so now. But I'm not. Yes, you're beautiful as hell, but I have already got Akitsu and this whole marriage contract thing hanging over my head, I don't want to add more romantic-like trouble to my life."

"Thou art calling me trouble now!?" Tsukiumi growled, trying to pull her hand free and bring up her other hand only for Ranma to grab it in turn. Now the redhead held both her wrists in her hands and despite being shorter Tsukiumi realized Ranma could easily overpower her, but wasn't doing so.

" **Yes**! Hell look how you just reacted! I don't want to lose a friend over this Tsukiumi, but I ain't gonna let you wail on me either. Now I'm going to let you go, and we're going to keep talking like civilized people, okay?"

Tsukiumi glared at the redhead, but after trying to reach her arms free once more calmed down. Ranma released her, and Tsukiumi stepped back, frowning as Akitsu moved in quickly, standing by Ranma's side. "Very well, I will need some time to think about this, but I still say you should have told me about your curse."

"I'll apologize for that, but I'll also note you reacted just like I feared you would." Shaking her head Ranma looked over at Akitsu. "Come on Akitsu, let's get back to the dojo. We'll see you around Tsukiumi, stay safe yeah?"

Tsukiumi watched the two of them go, feeling a discordant feeling of loss and irritation she didn't have words for as she watched them disappear over the rooftops. As if she had just missed her chance at something there. After a second she shook it off and decided to head to her temporary hotel room in the north of the city, no longer feeling any desire to be out and about for some inexplicable reason.

 **OOOOOOO**

That night after everyone else was asleep Ranma snuck out of the Tendo house and out onto the rooftops. From there he made his way towards the southern district of the city, stopping occasionally to look down at science to make sure he was going the right direction and following Kocho's directions. From there, he found the walled mansion that belonged to the Ashikabi of the South Mikogami Hayato, circling around it slowly as he made note of where the cameras were.

 _You'd think that he'd have cameras pointing up rather than down toward the ground given he knows about Sekirei. Or does he trust in his own flock so much he doesn't think a Sekirei could get close to him?_

With that Ranma backed up, and leaped high up into the air coming down on the other side of the fence directly behind one of the slowly swiveling cameras.

Before either of the cameras on either side of that one finished their own rotations which would cover that portion of the yard, Ranma had already rolled and was in amongst some bushes. From there he snuck through the property circling the mansion slowly, marking out where further cameras and other security features were, including a few pressure traps and various alarms. This also included two Sekirei that were slowly patrolling around the house.

One of them was one of the two blonde bimbos Ranma had seen before, though given how alike the two of them were and the fact it was dark out he couldn't tell which one. Indeed he had only seen the blonde hair thanks to the lights still on in some rooms in the mansion. The other was a Sekirei Ranma hadn't seen before, a short heavily muscled girl with a massive two headed battleaxe visible on her shoulder.

Both of them were moving around the entire property, which allowed Ranma to hide in a tree just close enough for what he wanted to do without either one the wiser. _And besides, I don't have to be sneaky getting out. Though I'm still surprised Kocho was able to find an actual blueprint of the house, you'd think rich folk would make certain that kind of thing wasn't part of the public record. Now… where is the main office?_

Once he was situated outside his target room Ranma reached into his pocket and began to pull out several stones around which paper had been wrapped. Then he aimed at the window to the mansion's main office, and began to hurl stones through it rapidly, so fast they blurred through the air.

The first one punched through the window with the sound of tinkling glass barely heard from where Ranma was hiding, followed by several more. There was a series of louder crashes and thumps from the other side of the now broken window which roused the Sekirei inside the mansion to the fact that something was going on. One of the Sekirei on patrol heard the noise and started toward that side of the mansion too, which Ranma spotted out of the corner of his eye.

After that, Ranma quickly left, the first sign that he had even been there being one of the cameras catching his back and his signature pigtail as he leaped over the outer wall. _Now, do I have time to hit up the Higa-aho and MBI tower?_ _Na, best to leave it for now, hit one place up each night. At least that way I'll have something to look forward to while I'm dying of boredom in school for the next few days._

 **OOOOOOO**

"How the hell did someone get close enough to throw stones through our Windows!" roared Mutsu angrily staring at the not two, but four Sekirei that had been on patrol. Two of them had been patrolling the mansion's grounds, while two had been patrolling the blocks around the mansion.

'We don't know!" groused the Sekirei with the battleaxe. "One minute's everything is fine, the next there's this noise of things breaking. Who the hell is he anyway?"

"His name's Ranma, he and I have met in person once a few weeks ago. He's an egotistical ass, but a tough bastard and sneaky too it appears. Still he should never have been able to get this close to our Ashikabi Clara!"

"That's enough," said Hayato, smiling and shaking his head as he read the messages on the stones. "There was no real damage done…"

"No damage, look at your computer!" Mutsu yelled, pointing at the wreckage of the computer's screen.

"So what? Everything important is on back up anyway. Besides, the game wouldn't be interesting if it didn't have an antihero in it. We'll need to step up our training schedules though. And no more patrols of below three people I think. And we'll stay well away from this Nerima district put it under the same heading as the North for now."

 **OOOOOOO**

The next evening after an uneventful day Ranma hit up MBI tower in a similar fashion, with Uzume's help once more. Though not exactly the same s the first time, the messages were just as inflammatory.

 **OOOOOOO**

"What is going on down there among the peons now," Minaka asked himself, sighing as he stared down from where he was gazing out over the city to see several hundred of MBI's drones once more outside pointing and staring up at the building. "I thought we got rid of the overcompensation message," he grumbled.

Moving back to his desk, he toggled through the security cameras until he found one of several that were on nearby buildings facing towards MBI Tower. There he paused, scowling angrily. Once more someone had been able to get onto his building and write out messages. "I suppose I should feel happy that he wasn't able to get in a position to hurl stones at my office like he was the brat of the South. Still, this needs to stop. It's threatening both the security of the game at this stage and MBI's position as the game manager."

"Where are the disciplinary squad?" he barked into his pickup to their Ashikabi, Natsuo Ichinomi.

The handsome man on the other end of the pickup smiled blandly. While he was a narcissist of the first degree who truly loathed the world in general, he also had a bit of a sadistic streak. As such he was somewhat enjoying the threats to his authority sent Minaka's way of late.

"Benitsubasa is being seen to by the medical section." He replied blandly. "She took a bad knocking about last night when she was involved in a fight with a Sekirei at the nightclub she had gone to, number 03 Kazehana. Apparently, she simply through Benitsubasa around like a leaf on the wind after Benitsubasa started a fight about 03's... most obvious features. She was actually called off from finishing Benitsubasa by the young man she was apparently drinking with, so I suppose we should be thankful for scant favors there."

Minaka blinked, actually shocked for a moment. He had thought that Kazehana would pine after him until she was forced to fight in the game during the second stage, but if she had been out on a date, that might not be the case. _Well good then, she'll be forced to play the game just like all the others,_ He grumped mentally, his ego rather bruised by the idea but not wanting to show it. "I see. And the other two?"

"Haihane is out dealing with a Sekirei that is trying to leave the city with her Ashikabi. Besides, given her apparent friendship with this Ranma fellow and her odd sense of humor I doubt that she'd be willing to obey orders to try to punish him again, especially since the last time failed so miserably."

"I actually wasn't going to send them out against Ranma again in a direct contest. No, I was going to have them pressure the Nerimites more forcefully." Minaka replied dryly. "If we can't gain control of Nerima as a whole then the influence we can maintain there is minimal at best."

"Ah, that could actually work. As could cutting them off from electricity and water, and making a public announcement of it being a punishment for Ranma's actions?"

"Hmmm…. I like that, excellent thinking! Yes, we'll cut the district off from public transportation first, then if Ranma persists in ruining the game and attacking MBI's position as game manager, we can cut off their water and other utilities. After that, having anyone who works outside the district fired from their companies will be the next stage."

"A concern though," the Ashikabi of the Disciplinary squad said, holding up a finger in the pickup of the video. "If we escalate like that, will this Ranma fellow escalate right back?"

"… Perhaps, but what can he do one his own?" Minaka said, waving his hand airily. "If he does, we can cut out the middle man and sic the whole Disciplinary Squad on him."

"Karasuba is out on a mission, one of the assassination missions we have to feed her to keep her satisfied. I would recommend we wait until she returns to do anything."

"Dammit!" Minaka muttered, but understood the other man's point. "The moment she's back, send her to my office. In the meantime look through the unreleased Sekirei and pick out at least three more who are strong enough to induct into the Squad."

The messages that so infuriated Minaka were in many ways the same Ranma had delivered to Hayato. They consisted of a few single sentence messages. 'Stop overcompensating', 'Sekirei are not Pokémon'. 'Every time I stop yours Sekirei from capturing a Sekirei I owe you one punch in the face.' While Ranma had no real wish to hit a child, his parents might be due a few smacks.

The message on MBI towers walls was much more general than that last one. 'Every time a Sekirei is winged against her will, I owe you, _, one punch in the face', with a line of a fill-in the blank category between next to it. Already Minaka saw several emails from his section chiefs about people wanting to quit.

Nor was Minaka the only one irritated by this act. Takami was also enraged, furious that someone had once more been able to actually get onto the building to write out these messages. And also afraid at what it meant: that MBI was losing control. "What do you mean we can't adequately cover the Tower so this shit doesn't happen again?"

"Ma'am said the engineer she was glowering at rather timidly. "We're stretched to the breaking point as it is. We're trying to wire up the entire city after all, and we still have a lot of areas that just don't have any coverage. We can keep working on that or we can see to the security of the tower. We can't do both. We don't have the men."

"Then concentrate on the tower," she ordered and held up a hand before the man could object. "After this fiasco I bet Minaka will agree with that one. We'll put off the next stage of the game for a few days more in order to secure our own security."

 **OOOOOOO**

The next day was Thursday and Ranma picked up Akitsu after school at the Tendos and took her over to Doctor Tofu for their appointment with him. Doctor Tofu smiled at the expressionless Sekirei, bowing and introducing himself formally. While he had seen her over at the Tendos a few nights back, they hadn't actually been introduced.

With that done, she gestured Akitsu to sit down on the table/bed for a moment. "Now Akitsu, have you ever been looked at by a doctor before?"

She nodded, but did not answer his question further until Ranma asked her to. "…We Sekirei were examined very often during the adjusting process, Ashikabi-sama" she said in a monotone voice.

A lot of the progress Ranma had made with her had seemingly disappeared the moment she heard she was going to be looked at by a doctor. Indeed it was only Ranma's presence that was forcing her to reply at all beyond single word answers and her body language had closed down even more than normal. Ranma had noticed this, and had taken her hand in one of his, the warmth of it helping her keep the fear at bay.

"Perhaps I should rephrase. Has a purely medical doctor looked at you with intent to see if you had any allergies or sickness? Not like a specimen," Doctor Tofu said, his mouth twitching from a smile into a frown at those words. "The doctors who treated you like that are not worth their caduceus."

"Occasionally." Ranma squeezed her hand and Akitsu elaborated. "I had a physical several months before the accident which forced this on me," she said, gesturing to the mark on her forehead.

"That mark's the main reason we're here doc," Ranma interjected, his thumb moving on the back of Akitsu's hand, though he didn't realize it. The touch did at least help her to calm down. "that and making certain she's got no homing device or something in her system.

"very well. We'll start with the physical exam before looking into that. Oh, and Ranma I also have enough time to get your physical done today too." Dr. Tofu said, not looking at the younger man as he picked up a stethoscope.

Ranma scowled, having hopped that Tofu would have forgotten. And with Akitsu right there getting a physical he couldn't very well get out of it. "Oh, fine, but in that case let's do Akitsu and my physical first, then move on to examining that marking."

Tofu nodded agreeably, then asked Ranma to leave the room so Akitsu could undress for the next series of examinations. When Ranma turned to leave though Akitsu refused to let go of his hand. He looked at her, and though her face and even eyes were expressionless, Ranma got the impression she was pleading with him not to leave.

Sighing Ranma turned back stepping so that he was on the other side of the bed from Tofu and still holding Akitsu's hand. "It looks like I'm going to be staying doc. Besides, much as I don't want to say it, I have seen Akitsu's body before." _And ooh boy did I enjoy it a lot,_ a portion of Ranma's mind thought, before being pushed back into its cage.

Akitsu allowed her lips to quirk up into a very faint smile. The memory of the time she had joined Ranma in the bath was one she treasured. Standing up momentarily Akitsu then began to undress, her chains clinking to the top of the bed as she undid them, then the center wide belt of her kimono, before letting it fall off her shoulders.

Tofu, certified doctor and incredibly controlled young man, gulped at the sight of Akitsu's body. It was both angelic and sinful, proportions few human women in the world could match, white skin that resembled a pearl almost and a taut, flat belly.

But Akitsu couldn't care less about the doctor's reactions. She knew with her Ranma-sama there she was safe and was much more interested in Ranma's reaction. Despite having seen her body several times by this point, Ranma was entranced, staring first down at her body then into her face, keeping his eyes locked on hers with difficulty. As he did, Akitsu realized she rather liked that better than if he had simply ogled her.

Thankfully for both men Akitsu was wearing a bra and panties else even Tofu and Ranma's self-control might not have saved them from death by blood-loss. "Ahem, right. Now, could you breath in for me?" Tofu said, taking some deep calming breaths himself.

As Ranma had anticipated, Akitsu's physical went off without a hitch. She was as fit as any athlete in the world, fitter even given how little body fat she had. Tofu idly noticed that her breasts were a marked contrast to how little fat she should actually have on her body, his professionalism pushing through his awe at her figure.

But the good doctor's real issues began with Ranma's physical. Ranma at first refused to take her clothes off after transforming then had to exit the room to get a bra to change into. While he had one on his person just in case, Ranma had yet to perfect the fast changing technique. Then when Tofu tried to test her reflexes Ranma nearly punted him into the wall. After that the doctor nearly had his hand broken when performing a few examinations.

The end result was just as bizarre and out there as Akitsu's. The muscle to fat ratio of the two girls was noticeably beyond even the fittest female athletes in the world, which stood out as a marked contrast to Ranma's chest and hips, which really should have been much less pronounced. Ranma's dexterity, hand eye coordination and reflexes made a snake look like a snail, well beyond even Akitsu's. All in all Ranma was a better than healthy young woman, her body seemingly fully functional.

Which brought Tofu to the worst moment of the examination. "Ranma, I realize you have probably been given the Talk, but I would wager that was only for the male side of things. I believe we need to speak to the physical side of things…."

What followed actually could have been described more as verbal torture rather than a simple explanation. By the end of it Ranma was twitching badly, her hands clenching and unclenching, and she could not change back to her male body fast enough. Even Akitsu was looking a little freaked out and when Ranma asked her later admitted to not having known quite a bit that Tofu explained.

With that finally over with, Tofu began his more thorough examination of Akitsu. His hand glowed a very light green as he held it up over the mark on her for head, smiling at her. "Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit "

This didn't stop Akitsu from worrying but with Ranma holding her hand she sat still as the doctor examined her.

"Hmm… this is very interesting. I have to say that she has a lot of ki in her system, far more than most humans. Can I use you as a comparison Ranma?" When Ranma nodded Tofu placed his still glowing hand on Ranma's chest, nodding slowly. "She has quite a bit more ki than you, but this mark on her forehead is indeed acting like a blocker. Or perhaps a better description would be a knot. Her own ki has been fouled or scrunched up by some great shock to her system and the image on her forehead is acting like a visible sign of the knot… i'm sorry, words are not very good at describing what I am seeing."

"That's about what my old man could tell, if a little more detailed. Can you tell if there's anything foreign keeping the block there and how can we get rid of it?" Ranma asked, leaning forward intently, squeezing Akitsu's hand.

"I don't think so, a foreign element might have started the process but it's all her own ki now." Tofu demurred. "As for solving it, that's going to take a lot of research. I think I will need to contact several doctors I know to see what they think about it. I can think of two ways to get rid of the blockage, but I am not going to say more until I figure out the long term consequences."

Akitsu's eyes had widened noticeably when Tofu mentioned there might be ways to get rid of her mark, but then wilted as he went on. She looked to her side however when Ranma once more squeezed her hand, smiling at her reassuringly. "Hey, it's progress Akitsu, what's that phrase, Tokyo wasn't built in a day? We made progress today, let's be happy about that okay?"

"Ahh… yes Ranma-sama," She said with a nod, almost back to how she was before they arrived at Tofu's office.

"There is one more test I want to do. You asked if I could tell if someone had embedded tracking devices. I can do that, so if you could lay down Akitsu I believe we can finish this last aspect of the examination quickly." Tofu said, looking a little uncomfortable seeing the look in his patients' eyes.

At Ranma's gentle encouragement Akitsu lay down with her face down on the bed, while most of her body was covered by a sheet up to half of her back. This examination didn't take long at all after Tofu brought in an x-ray machine before Tofu stopped, gesturing to where Akitsu's neck met her shoulders is. "The only foreign object I found is something embedded in her spine right there. I don't know what it is, my equipment isn't powerful enough to tell me more beyond its existence and it's size."

"That's right over where the symbol of the Sekirei/Ashikabi bond should be," Ranma said grimly. "There's no way that's a coincidence. Can you remove it?"

"No," Doctor Tofu said with a sigh. "That would be beyond my skill as a doctor. It would take a surgeon of some skill to remove it, let alone to emplace it in the first place. If it's any it actually doesn't seem to be on at present."

"That actually does make me feel better. Thanks Doc," Ranma said with a sigh moving around the table and pulling Akitsu to her feet after she had finished dressing.

Heading home after what was possibly the most embarrassing moment of her entire his/her entire life, Ranma was itching to head out on patrol and hopefully find something to hit. Or barring that, Ranma would be willing to head over to Miya's place and letting out some of her frustrations in a spar against Miya or Musubi.

Stopping in at the Tendos he found Nabiki waiting for them. She took one look at Ranma's face and winced shaking her head. "Sorry Ranma" she said, moving over the past him on the shoulder. "Everyone's gone through a physical like that at one point or another in their lives."

"Yeah I know," Ranma said with a sigh. "It's just, well, it's not my body you know?"

"I think you really do need to get used to it being your body," Nabiki said with a sigh of her own. That was one of several things that she had to come to grips with if she was interested in Ranma. Was she willing and able to accept the curse? She didn't feel threatened by it, and could intellectually find the little busty redhead beautiful, but that was a far cry form finding her attractive enough to kiss or anything else.

Setting that thought aside however, she decided to tackle the actual problem she had hoped to today. "Anyway, I was going to head out to do some shopping and I'd like to bring Akitsu along. She can't always be wearing the same thing after all, and she's just different enough than Kasumi and I that we have to change some of our clothing for her. That's worked so far, but it can't last. And since were rather flush with cash after the sale of those pictures I figured we could buy her some more clothing."

Ranma nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some cash handing it over to her as he looked over at Akitsu expecting to start an argument. Akitsu however simply nodded, looking at Nabiki speculatively. "Ahh…I will go with her Ranma," she said, hesitatingly slightly but not showing any further sign of worry.

Surprised, Ranma nodded. "Okay, I'll head out myself then. I'll meet you guys back here after my patrol." With that said, Ranma turned around immediately and hopped up onto the rooftops and away.

Akitsu and Nabiki stood there in the sitting room for a moment looking at one another, then Nabiki held up the cash. "So, do you want to go shopping? Or would you rather talk here?"

After a moment's thought Akitsu nodded toward the door. "I need new bras and panties at least." She had finally gotten into the habit of actually wearing said items by this point, but she didn't have many. Nor did she have that many outfits beyond her normal one, not having bought many while she was out with Uzume and Miya and Ranma that one time. And she had learned recently that while she was fine going around with Ranma dressed as she was, she didn't like doing so without him around. "I will go change."

When she came back, dressed in jeans and a blouse Aktisus eyes once more began to bore into Nabiki's and Nabiki sighed realizing they were going to have to have this out now rather than after they had finished shopping. "Okay" she said, looking at Akitsu seriously after locking the door behind her. "I can tell you know something's up, I take it you want to talk about the whole fiancé thing?"

Akitsu nodded. Ashikabi-sama said that… Ranma said that," she corrected herself. "That you all were looking for a way out of the arrangement, but that might not be possible. I had heard about it, but had not realized he might not be able to get out of it until he said that."

"That's true, but you're not stupid Akitsu, you've seen how I look at him at times. I know you saw me flirting with him after the movie a few nights back."

At Nabiki's question Akitsu nodded sharply, more sharply than she normally would move at all outside of combat. Her gaze also narrowed like a laser entering Nabiki's head despite the fact that her expression hadn't changed.

"I'll admit I am interested in Ranma okay?" Nabiki said holding up her hands defensively. "But I'm not interested in forcing him to choose between us, although I don't know at this point whether I'd be willing to share either."

"I will fight for my Ashi…" Akitsu corrected herself once more. "I will fight for Ranma-sama and my place next to him."

"And I don't know if I'm that interested in Ranma. I understand that you think you're in love with him Akitsu, but humans don't work that way. I **am** attracted to Ranma, intensely attracted to him," Nabiki admitted.

She'd had a dream or two about Ranma occasionally after seeing him exercise shirtless or performing one of his amazingly complex katas. "But whether that could become love? I don't know. And I'm also leery about showing any interest in him at all once my father returns from this training trip of his. You've only had a few days of putting up with him and Ranma's father, but I can tell you that the bit pair of them are not happy with the way that Ranma and the three of us are holding off on this whole engagement thing. I have been looking into reasons why, but my sources in on the law side of things are not nearly as quick to get back to me as my friends are at school."

Most of that went over Akitsu's head, so she simply nodded. "You do not wish to be exclusive with Ranma-sama?"

"No," Nabiki said quickly, knowing that was the main point Aktisu was concerned about. "I am not willing to push you out of his life Akitsu," she went moving to take Akitsu's hand, the Sekirei allowing her to do so. "You've gone through too much, suffered too much for me to want to do that. I'm just saying that I'd like to see where Ranma and I could go."

Akitsu slowly nodded, staying quiet as Nabiki led them down the streets of Nerima's shopping district. It was small, far smaller than the mall that Akitsu and the others had gone to on that first shopping trip, but there were a few things that she could buy here which Nabiki thought she might be interested in. And it was in Nerima. The odds of running into any other Sekirei or MBI agents were nil.

For her part, Akitsu didn't know what to think about this. On the one hand, she was a Sekirei and had been indoctrinated to believe that she would eventually have to share her Ashikabi with other Sekirei. The idea did not throw her off all that much, though she still felt jealous at the idea of having to share Ranma's affections with anyone.

That being said, she liked Nabiki, almost as much as she liked Kasumi. The two of them had welcomed her into her their home, befriended her, and treated Akitsu as an individual, not like she was broken at all. Between the two of them and Ranma, Akitsu knew now that while her powers might not be where they could be, she was in no way broken as she had felt she was before meeting Ranma.

She had come into this discussion hoping in some part to corner Nabiki and make her back off, because she had indeed noticed Nabiki flirting with Ranma in the past. But now they came to it and Nabiki had been so up front about it, and indeed had stated that she had no desire to push a wedge between Ranma and her, Akitsu decided she could go along with that for now. "…How long does it take humans to realize they are in love rather than affectionate towards one another?" she asked as they entered the shopping district.

Nabiki looked at her startled, then chuckled shaking her head. "There is no set timeframe for that kind of thing Akitsu," she said with a smile that would've caused shock and consternation among many of our friends and factors. "I can't tell you that. All I know is that I'd like to see what happens between me and Ranma, okay?"

"Will Kasumi do so too?" That Akitsu probably would not be happy with. Having one person in compete with for Ranma's time and attention was okay, but having more than one was not. In fact she was very happy that since their confrontation with her that while Tsukiumi had not stopped by again.

"No, Kasumi and Ranma like one another well enough as friends, but I don't think there's any danger of it ever going beyond that. Ranma's a breath of fresh air that Kasumi really enjoys since it's changed up our daily lives, but I don't think she'd enjoy being too close to the action. I don't even know if I'll be all that happy frankly if I get involved in some of the chaos you two are taking part in." Nabiki replied, shaking her head at the very idea.

"And you are positive you won't try to separate us?" Akitsu said stopping suddenly and moving close to stare hard into Nabiki's eyes.

"No chance. You two are too damn cute." Nabiki said simply, not reacting at all to Akitsu's attempt to intimidate her.

Akitsu slowly nodded, and turned away to resume their walk.

Deciding she really needed it to be verbalized, Nabiki caught up with her, taking Akitsu's hand again. "So does that mean you won't try to freeze me if I step up my flirtations?"

Akitsu shook her head. "I will not."

"But…" she paused once more to look at Nabiki seriously. "But whatever your emotions become, I know I love Ranma-sama. That will not change. I might not be able to be winged by his kisses, but I refuse to give up that warmth." All of this was said in the same monotone she always spoke with, but there was a fierce determination that carried over despite that and her inexpressive face.

"Duly noted," Nabiki said sighing. "We'll cross that bridge if it comes to it. At the moment, I'm more interested in living in the now." Looking around she changed the subject. "Tell me, has Ranma talked to you about maybe learning how to add a weapon to your style?"

 **OOOOOOO**

Ranma headed straight out on patrol from the dojo rather than heading to Izumo House first, knowing this was the day of the monthly anniversary of Takehito's death. He had seen her yesterday and knew the pain there was still a raw thing. Nor was it something he could help her with except maybe to jolly her along. But with Miya at the cemetery, Ranma was in no hurry to go head to the inn. Musubi was fun, but not good enough to give him a real spar like he wanted right now.

Instead Ranma decided to push his patrols deeper into the eastern territory, telling himself that was because he wanted to stop more forced wingings and that the eastern and southern areas of the city were the signs of most of those. But really after the embarrassing time he'd had earlier Ranma just wanted to really wail on something. And thankfully for Ranma, he found something quickly.

Hearing a commotion down on the streets of honking horns and shouts of "Stop!" Ranma moved in that direction. From a few blocks away he spotted a young man racing between traffic away from a gang of men in suits, who had just come out of a van. The van had been parked outside what looked like some kind of restaurant, but the guys in suits were well out of position to chase after their quarry.

The boy, young man whatever, Ranma wasn't really good at guessing ages especially from several blocks away, was hauling along a woman. Again Ranma couldn't make out any of her features from this distance except she was wearing a tight purple dress of some kind.

But the most important part of this whole scene to Ranma was that there was a Sekirei on the rooftops nearby. She was thin, with short blonde hair and a boyish body but she wore tight clothing with stripes of black and yellow across her top matching her long tight gloves. For pants she wore bloomers of all things.

At almost the same time Ranma saw her, the Sekirei turned and spotted him, pausing from leaping down after the boy and the probable Sekirei he was dragging along. She turned, glaring at him as thin strings fell from her fingers, flicking along the top of the roof. "You! We've all been warned about you, Higa-sama wants you dead! But that's not my mission. If you butt out, I won't have to hurt you."

Shaking his head Ranma didn't say anything, in no mood to banter with the girl. Instead he closed rapidly watching her fingers closely.

The girl flung one of her hands forward as if she was trying to toss a ball underhand, but Ranma saw the strings attached to her fingers flicking out at speed. They also glinted like metal and Ranma knew that they would hurt like hell if they landed.

So he dodged them in midair, landing directly in front of the girl, one hand up and pushing her other arm out and away. But she moved with it, twirling around and bringing her other hand around complete with the string she was using. Ranma jumped over that lashing out with a kick that caught the girl in the side of the head, hurling her away.

Still, she was able to get her feet under her and leap away from his follow on attack, trying to get her strings around him once more. A few ripped into his clothing, but he still dodged them enough to not be tagged. He then got in close and smashed a punch into the girl's chest.

Leaping away after lashing out with a kick at Ranma's balls just to get him to back off for a second, the Sekirei gritted her teeth. "Damn it, you really are as good as they say you are. Well, let's see if you can handle this!" with that she raised her both hands over her head to either side like a Y shape, the strings attached to her fingers falling in two cascades to either side. Then she began to glow, the glow originating from the back of her neck and spreading outward. "Sekirei #31! By the blades of strings, my Ashikabi's enemies will be ripped to shreds!" So saying she lashed out with her strings far faster than she had previously.

Ranma was still able to dodge her attack if barely, watching in shock as it sliced into the rooftop and several surrounding buildings, slicing several feet beyond the walls into the interior of the buildings. And Ranma also gasped as his arm exploded in pain despite his having dodged the attack, or so he thought. Staring down at his arm Ranma saw a long gash there, bleeding badly but already healing.

 _What the hell, was that just because of the air pressure?! Even as fast as it was going it shouldn't have projected that much air pressure around the point of attack!_ Growling Ranma lashed out with his own long range attack, a blast of gold and blue energy lashing out from his hands.

So busy was she with her own attack, Sai couldn't dodge in time and she screamed as the battering ram of pure light energy smashed into her, hurling her backwards to crash off the side of the building. She tried to land on her feet, but Ranma was after her. She barely had time to look up before a blow to her temple knocked her out. Her limp body was thrown against a nearby parked car, crashing into it with wrecking ball force.

Staring from the unconscious Sekirei and his arm Ranma growled, shaking his head. "Let that be a lesson Ranma old boy, don't underestimate Sekirei despite most of them being arrogant and delusional. That must've been one of those norito things, damn dangerous they are. Now, where was I?"

With that Ranma hopped back up onto the rooftops, moving around quickly until he found the man trying to drag the girl away. They were still being followed by the gang og suit wearing thugs and Ranma decided it was about time to step in. With that thought after the kid raced into an alleyway Ranma leaped off the roof to land in among the thugs.

They all had a brief second to gasp at his sudden arrival then Ranma's feet and hands flashed out, slamming them this way and that. One of them had the presence of mind to duck as he landed, pulling out a tazer. While smashing another man into the alleyway's wall Ranma felt tazer touch his skin, followed by a jolt. But it wasn't nearly enough volts to make him twitch, let alone actually cause him pain.

"Yeah," he said smacking the tazoer ut of the man's hand smirking at the other man's look of wide-eyed shock. "That's not going to work on me." With that he looked around thoughtfully. Spotting a nearby dumpster he grabbed the man who had used the tazer up in one hand and headed in that direction, holding him in the air as if he weighed no more than a feather.

"You don't know what you're doing kid, we work for…" the man began only to stop as Ranma shook him .

"Does it look like I care?" Ranma asked, picking up another guy in a suit and looking over at the man that they had been chasing. He looked a little scruffy, but Ranma felt he had seen him before somewhere. "You're the guy I nearly ran over with Ryoga aren't you?"

The young other man nodded at him slowly. "You um, you look kind of familiar too, and I, I haven't seen any other guys running around and jumping off buildings."

"Yeah martial artists like me aren't exactly common around here unfortunately. Can you get that dumpster lid for me?"

"Oh um sure," the man said, politeness overriding curiosity for a moment as he lifted the lid up with his one free hand, not letting go of the the girl he was holding around the waist with his other one..

"Don't do it you fuckeEr!" the still conscious kidnapper said, only to find himself in the air tossed up and into the dumpster. He was followed by his fellows in quick succession, two of them smacking into him and hurling him back down into the starch at the bottom of the dumpster.

"Hopefully you lot have some cell phones to call for help, if not, meh, you'll probably make it to the landfill safely," Ranma said cheerfully, waving at the cursing man as he closed the lid before turning back to the scruffy man. "My name's Ranma," he said cheerfully, having worked out all of his earlier frustrations and feeling quite a bit lighter now. "What's yours?"

"Minato," the man said holding out his free hand to shake. "Are you involved in this whole Sekirei game thing?"

"Well, I'm not really involved… I am more the wild earthquake that's trying to shake the chessboard rather than an actual piece. I take it that you and this lady are a pair?" Ranma asked, shaking Minato's hand. This close he could tell Minato was actually older than him, maybe a year or so older than Kasumi.

"Um, sort of," Minato said hesitantly. "We, er, Kazehana-san and I, met a few days back. A friend of mine took me out drinking too… well to get over failing my tests again… Do you go to university?"

"Nope," Ranma said cheerfully, moving to take the girl from Minato. She was a little older than Minato, but was gorgeous as most Sekirei seemed to be. She wore a tight purple dress and had long, black hair, thick pout lips, and a beautiful face. She also had the biggest bust that Ranma had ever seen, or even imagined could ever exist. _Holy shit, those are larger than even Musubi's! Maybe Nabiki was right that the Sekirei made some secret agreement with a God somewhere to get bodies like this._

On top of that, Ranma noticed she looked almost green rather than unconsciousness like he had thought. Her purple eyes were tracking, but her head was lolling this way and that. Feeling her pulse, he frowned. "Was she drugged?"

"I think so. We were, well we were out on a date," Minato said blushing and looking down at the ground, his feet shuffling unconsciously. "I know what you're thinking, she's not in my league or anything but well we hit it off, or I guess she found something in me to like I don't know what…"

"Okay stop right there!" Ranma ordered, taking a step back and making a timeout sign with his hands. "I really don't care about your insecurity issues, or whatever she sees in you okay? If she does, and if you like her equally that's enough for me. Tell me what actually happened, and do it as we move. This is not a friendly part of town."

"I wish I'd known that when we were planning our date." Minato said sighing and looking around as Ranma hefted the girl into his arms. The woman rather, Ranma could in no way called this Sekirei a girl.

"Anyway, I thought Kazehana-san looked a little queasy after only one drink, and that's just weird for her. So I didn't drink anymore, and tried to talk her out of drinking, but Kazehana kept on drinking two more glasses before she stopped. By that time she looked almost dead. I realized something was wrong and got us out of the back of the restaurant, which seemed to have taken whoever those people are by surprise. After that they started chasing us. If you haven't come along we'd have never gotten away from them."

"that was pretty good thinking Minato," Ranma said, then looked at the other man. He then sighed, kneeling down. 'Get on my back. We're going to take the high road kid. Surely your girl here has done that a time or two with you right?"

Yeah, but no offense, this way doesn't look nearly as fun," Minato said, getting on Ranma's back.

"For you and me both Minato. Now hold on, this is going to get bumpy. From there he leaped up onto the nearby rooftops and away ignoring his passenger's yelp of shock.

Luckily by the time they got back to Izumo House Miya was there having come back from her visit to the cemetery. She took one look at Ranma and his burden, and sighed theatrically. "Oh dear, I knew it would come to this eventually Kazehana, you've finally drunk so much you couldn't handle it. Just set her down in the main room Ranma, I'll dump some water on her head until she comes around."

"You know this lush?" Ranma asked, putting her on the floor much more gently than Miya had indicated he should. "And I don't think it's because she was drinking, Minato you tell her. She obviously knows about the Sekirei plan, just tell it straight."

Minato stared in awe at the very elegant looking purple haired girl woman for several seconds before bowing quickly. "Thank you for letting us into your home miss, I um, and my friend…"

From there Minato explained what had occurred, inching back as Miya's visage began to go dark, an ethereal vision appearing behind her for a moment. It disappeared as Minato got to the part where Ranma arrived on the scene. At that point Ranma took up the tail, telling about how he had run into his first norito attack.

"I see," Miya said darkly. "And this happened in the East? Perhaps I need to take a brief sojourn to the east of the city and express my **displeasure** with this act."

"Meh, I've already made plans to do just that, I'd say leave it to me. There's this little thing called Tokyo that might be broken if you start to act out," Ranma said with a shrug, but little to no hyperbole in his voice. Even now Miya's ki was like a bonfire to the scattered candles of the others in the inn. "Could be fun, but probably a bit overkill. No, I've already got plans to pay him back."

From there Ranma explained his nightly escapades and that Higa was going to be his next target. After a moment Miya nodded, but decided that this weekend she would stop in at MBI. Regardless of anything else, her feathers were supposed to be allowed to search for their destined ones without interference. Drugs especially were well beyond the pale. And if Minaka could not protect her feathers, their agreement was null and void.

 **OOOOOOO**

Heading back to the Tendos Ranma was happy with how the night had turned out. _My day might have started shitty, but it certainly went uphill after I left the Tofu's._ With that thought he hoped down into the Tendo's backyard, wondering where Akitsu was.

"Hey Ranma, have an interesting night?" Nabiki called from her balcony.

Ranma looked up at her and waved. Kind of yeah. Found another Sekirei that was almost forced into being winged by someone in the east, as well as a possible Ashikabi who desperately needed some help to get away. What about you and Akitsu? And where is she?"

"It turns out that she isn't able to actually read very well, so she and Yashima are studying together in Kasumi's room with her." Nabiki replied, gesturing to the room next to hers on the right.

Indeed that was where Akitsu was, though she was only remaining there at present because Kasumi was giving her The Look™, and forcing her to stay put despite Ranma having come home. Kasumi loomed over both Sekirei a pair of round glasses perched on her nose, a riding crop of all things in her hand as she glared at them. "Neither of you are leaving this room until I am satisfied with your progress, is that understood?"

 _Where did she get the riding crop?_ Both Sekirei wondered, cringing before Akitsu moved back to the table where she had been sitting.

At her friend Sayuri's, Akane looked out the window suddenly after having told her friends how her arm had been broken. "Someone has awoken Task-mistress Kasumi. May Amaterasu have mercy on their souls."

"Amen," chorused her friends.

Back in the Tendo's Ranma winced, both because he suddenly felt guilt for not having thought of that and also because he could all too easily remember how Kasumi had been when she was helping him with his Language Arts essays. "Damn, I didn't even think about that."

"It turns out that it might have been down to the adjusters who were operating on the Sekirei to decide if they were taught how to read or not," Nabiki said, gesturing Ranma up to join her. She smiled as he simply leaped up, landing lightly on her balcony stepping back into her room.

It was only now that Ranma realized what she was wearing: a tight T-shirt and yoga pants that hugged her rear, waist and thighs like a second skin. He gulped, blushing lightly and looking away. But Nabiki didn't seem to notice Ranma's reaction, gesturing him to sit down as she moved back to the bed.

There she lay down on her back before starting some leg lifts above her head. "I wanted to talk to you anyway. With another one of you Sekirei slash martial artists leaving here we'll need to push forward with another moneymaking scheme soon. Unless you want to dip into the savings account that I started for you after I sold the photos from last time?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nah, let's go with another moneymaking scheme," he said, trying to concentrate on Nabiki's face and voice rather than the way her chest moved as she moved her legs, or the bare, toned skin of her legs as they shifted t in the air above her. _Dammit, does she know what she's doing_? Despite his experiences with Akitsu, Ranma really didn't understand the line between innocently showing off and purposeful flirtation. Nor had he realized that Nabiki was interested in him.

"Good idea," Nabiki said and nodded firmly. " **I** certainly don't want to go into my savings for any reason. In fact, if we push forward with enough of my ideas, we might be able to make enough money for both of us to head to college, and enough besides to maybe let Kasumi go back to school. That is if your father is able to break my father's… stasis I suppose you could say and he can come back and take up more of the monthly upkeep for the house."

Her lips quirked. "And with her arm broken Akane's not going to be adding as much to the monthly bills as much in terms of the number of concrete blocks we have to buy. Though Kasumi already had to warn her to stay out of the kitchen, so maybe it will even out." Again there was something there in Nabiki's eyes that went beyond her dry wit to something actually cutting, but Ranma couldn't tell what it was.

He simply nodded, having gotten the impression that the man of the house had pushed a lot of the running of said house on to Kasumi's shoulders soon after he had arrived. "You think Kasumi wants to go back to college?" Ranma asked.

"She graduated high school despite basically taking care of Akane and me," Nabiki said shrugging her shoulders. "And I know she's taught herself quite a bit since. I bet she could test into a girl's college somewhere. Not a high end one, but certainly a decent enough one to get by."

"And what do you want to do?" Ranma asked. He'd heard some of Nabiki's plans for the future while they were talking about setting up a savings account for him. But they have not gone into any details.

"I want to go to Tokyo University," she replied promptly. "I want to be the first person to go there from Nerima, and I want to graduate and move into business. Well, maybe on that last one. I'm not certain I'd be able to deal with the 'men's only club' that I'll run into in the business world. I do know that I want to be rich and respected, maybe a **little** bit of fear mixed in there too," she finished smirking wickedly as she held up her fingers about an inch apart.

Ranma laughed. "That makes sense. Now, what kind of moneymaking deals are you thinking of, and can you include Uzume in them? I just talked to her this evening, and she needs more money. Not certain why."

"Easily. Some of them have to deal with taking pictures, but others, well I talked to her Uzume about ideas based around her skill with costumes, and I bet I could figure out a way to work you into those. Beyond the martial arts construction gigs I can line up for you this weekend anyway. What do you think about dressing up as a female clown or something like that to play beside Uzume in some of her costumes?"

The two of them talked about that for a few minutes then the discussion moved into the agreement between their families. Nabiki reported that she hadn't discovered why their fathers had sprung this on them or had started to push for them becoming official fiancés so quickly. She also told Ranma that she was backtracking Genma's trail over the years. If he created other agreements like with Ukyo that would hopefully nullify the honor agreement between their families. Unfortunately as head of the family that decision would be ultimately up to Soun whatever anyone else wanted.

"Until then, we'll just have to make the best of it maybe even get to know one another," Nabiki finished. There was a hesitant tone to her voice as she looked at Ranma.

Ranma however didn't notice he simply nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. Though I'll tell you straight, I don't really have any interest in Akane. And Kasumi I don't know, I mean she's really pretty, but she's not my type."

"So I'll pencil us in a date for this weekend, would that be alright?" Nabiki asked.

"What?!" Ranma squeaked, yes, squeaked, Nabiki noticed, laughing internally. "Well um, I like talking to you and I think you're a friend, but a date, er, I know you're a girl and also a friend," Ranma said hesitantly. "But, but well…" he spluttered to a halt trying to think of a way to say that he was attracted to Nabiki without just blurting it out even as he imagined how this would affect his life going forward before shaking his head and moving on. "But there's this whole thing with me and Akitsu to think about anyway."

"Is it so hard to say you find me sexy Ranma?" Nabiki asked, some of her own confidence having returned at seeing how uncertain Ranma was in their current situation. She turned on her side, doing side leg lifts for a moment as she proper her head under one arm, smirking at him. "You've certainly been trying not to stare since I invited you in here."

"Stop teasing me," Ranma said looking away quickly.

Nabiki twisted her body further around, flashing her legs before setting them down and moving over to him. He looked back when he felt her touch his shoulder, then gasped as Nabiki sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his back. The look in his eyes as she did made Nabiki feel more feminine and powerful than any amount of moneymaking schemes had ever done. "Is this blunt enough?" she asked sarcastically, pushing forward so that her forehead rested against his.

"But, but Akitsu! Yeah, you're hot and I like you, but, but…" Ranma stammered.

"I've already talked to Akitsu and I told her what I'm telling you now. I'm not interested in splitting you up, I'm not even certain I am more than physically attracted to you. I mean I like you well enough as a friend, but… I've never been in a relationship before Ranma," she said somewhat more timidly leaning back now and hanging onto his shoulders as she did. As confident as she was about her looks, when it came to emotions that confidence went out the window. "I just want to see if maybe there can be something between us okay?"

"…You're not going to try to fight Akitsu or compete with her or try to split us up?" Ranma asked looking shocked. He wasn't as surprised at the idea of Akitsu accepting it, having figured that Sekirei might be indoctrinated to think that a guy having multiple partners was normal. But the idea of Nabiki, a normal girl, accepting the same kind of thing was kind of weird to him. He liked Nabiki sure, and yes was attracted to her, but if that messed up what was building between Akitsu and him, Ranma wasn't going to chance it.

"Yes I know, but despite my reputation Ranma I'm not the ice Queen that I portray at school," Nabiki said, still hanging by his shoulders as she wrapped her legs around him and the back of the chair. She then flushed a solid bright red for a moment as she felt his reaction to her through the thin silk pants he was wearing. _Okay, he is definitely attracted to me wow!_

She quickly let go of his arms, before adroitly falling backwards, flipped herself back up and over onto her bed, blushing and looking away as Ranma quickly did the same, taking a moment to adjust himself. "T, that was a little too much. Sorry." she muttered

Ranma nodded, but then looked back at her. "So um, you were saying?"

"I was saying that Akitsu doesn't deserve to be pushed aside by me or anyone else. And while you might still have issues with it, she does love you." Nabiki said, surprised that she didn't feel any jealousy as she said that.

To her surprise Ranma simply nodded at that. "I am kind of getting over my issues there. I still don't like it, I still don't like how fast it's happening but there's only so often you can hear that someone cares about you like that without slowly beginning to believe them and to return those feelings."

Nabiki nodded in turn, now feeling some jealousy at how Ranma had said that but overcoming it easily. "Anyway, she and I have both agreed that I can at least try to see where this is going with you, so that's why I mentioned the date."

"All right," he said slowly nodding his head. "How about this then: I'll take Akitsu out on a date before patrolling tomorrow night, and then I won't patrol on Saturday at all, I'll take you out then instead. Will that work?"

"That's perfect Ranma. In fact, we can probably leave straight from Miya's place. We can do one of the two Martial Arts Construction jobs I have lined up for you in the morning, have lunch here with everyone then head there and talk with Uzume about the long term jobs while taking some more pictures."

"That works," Ranma said with a nod. "Like I said, Uzume really needs the money."

"Something to talk about with her then." Nabiki replied, frowning slightly as the words registered this time, Nabiki having ignored them before so focused had she been with flirting with Ranma. The money Uzume had earned from their photo session was pretty good, certainly enough for several months worth of payment on an apartment like Uzume's, or even for two classes at a college. _It could be for her Ashikabi, but what kind of medical care would cost so much?_

Ranma shrugged and to both of their very carefully hidden relief, the discussion shifted back to money making matters for a time, before Nabiki glanced at the clock and said they needed to head to bed. Ranma nodded and stood up, making for the door but Nabiki called him back.

" There's one more thing Ranma," she said gesturing him over to her. When he did, she leaned up, and quickly kissed him on the lips. It wasn't a deep kiss and it wasn't as passionate as the kisses Ranma had shared with Akitsu, but it was meaningful

For Nabiki it was her first kiss, and she felt a thrill feeling Ranma's lips on hers. They were somewhat coarse those lips and they pressed back against hers with just a bit more force than she was pressing against them. it felt good, very good for both of them.

Nabiki smiled as she leaned back and Ranma did the same, licking her lips as they tingled lightly from the kiss. "Oh yes, I'm very interested in seeing where this is going Ranma." She said, pushing at his chest to signal they were done. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

Gulping Ranma nodded, and headed towards the door not realizing that he too had a smile on his face.

 **End Chapter**

* * *

A solid mix of action and character interaction here, despite the fact I didn't cover all the events I wanted to. I wanted to cover the dates and a few other events, a solid week of in fic time, but simply wasn't happy with how those scenes were flowing in outline format, and decided to wait on them until next time.

About Tsukiumi and the romance in general: I think given the fact she feels, rightly in a way, that Ranma has if not lied to her at least mislead her, Tsukiumi would not push forward to start anything with Ranma at this point. She would take some time to think about it. I also think Ranma is not mentally ready to deal with a tsundere like her, regardless of his attraction to her physically and may never be. In the main though, I intend to leave the romance aspect open and building along the story rather than leaping to the end game as it were.


End file.
